Had they dealt with the situation more thoughtfully, the club would probably be in the third round of the Uefa Cup and the papers would be focusing on Leeds’ lucky escape against the European debutants Troyes. Instead, by allowing the players to decide whether or not to travel for the first leg, the management dug themselves into a hole.Colin Hutchinson, the club’s managing director, had said that anyone who decided not to board the plane for Tel Aviv would be forgiven immediately and allowed to rejoin the group. Two days later, Ken Bates, the chairman, laid the blame for the first-leg defeat squarely at the door of the six missing players “They will have to live with their actions,” he said. That may seem unfair, but if Emmanuel Petit really was shopping at Harrods that day, there can be little sympathy for the Frenchman.Victories, of course, are a quick way to repair damage. But since the away leg in Israel, Chelsea have managed only three draws.

The first, a goalless affair against Leeds United, will be remembered only for the Graeme Le Saux horror tackle on Danny Mills. Last Sunday, Chelsea travelled to lowly Derby County and were so outplayed in the first half that they might have been three down by the break. In the event, they were, but only in terms of personnel, as Ranieri had to make three half-time substitutions before Chelsea were able to salvage a point.And then there was Thursday. Ranieri cannot shoulder all the blame for the display, but questions must be asked of his managerial skills if he is having to replace three players during each interval.

Either he is getting his tactics wrong or his players are not performing for him. Neither option suggests a happy ship, and you wonder how long the Italian can survive the current malaise. The crisis is all the more serious because the club are paying most of their players exorbitant wages and require top European football to sustain debts of more than £50m. Not that Hutchinson seems perturbed: “Claudio has our full backing,” he said. “We are satisfied with the progress we have made under him so far We knew when he came that he had a rebuilding job to do. We have said consitently that it would take time to turn the team around.”Notions of the Champions’ League seem very distant,.