Chelsea delay Ranieri verdict

Claudio Ranieri's future is unlikely to be resolved at tomorrow's so-called showdown meeting with Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon.

Standard Sport understands that a definitive decision over whether Ranieri will stay as Chelsea manager for next season will not be made by the club until May, despite speculation to the contrary.

This still leaves the popular Italian with the option of deciding his own destiny, but with an £8 million pay-off looming if he is sacked, Ranieri is unlikely to force the issue now.

Although it is fair to describe the private meeting between the two as an opportunity to "clear the air" and establish a better working relationship for the rest of the season, the main focus of the face-to-face discussions tomorrow will be to outline the long term strategy for the club and where the role of manager fits into this. Kenyon has come in for severe criticism for his apparent failure to categorically back Ranieri and for the courting of Sven-Goran Eriksson.

All the senior figures at Chelsea believe it is impossible to make a decision on the manager's future until the club's Champions League campaign has come to its conclusion. Chelsea face Monaco in the first leg of their semi-final next Tuesday. But there is a growing belief it will be impossible to do anything but keep Ranieri if Chelsea win the Champions League.

Although the 52-year-old Italian, and his advisers, want a quicker resolution than that, it is understood both sides will agree that further discussions will take place towards the end of the season once the plans for the future structure have been outlined.