Ranieri's final chance

Claudio Ranieri's future at Chelsea hinges on winning the Champions League final.

The Italian coach and club chief executive Peter Kenyon had what was reported to be a cordial meeting lasting just over an hour at Stamford Bridge yesterday but there was no firm decision about his future at the club beyond the end of the season.

But the Italian now understands that Chelsea's two matches against Monaco, which will decide who goes through to the Final on 26 May, will be pivotal.

The first leg of the semifinal will be in Monte Carlo next Tuesday and Phil Smith, an agent for Ranieri's advisors First Artist Corporation, said: "We have been trying to push it so that the decision on his future does not go beyond the summer. But it's not going to be resolved overnight.

"There will be another meeting after the Monaco game. It may well depend on how that goes as to what happens then."

That meeting will be the first of many at regular intervals from now until the end of May, when a final decision will be made.

Should Chelsea beat the French side to reach the Final, then it is possible that club owner Roman Abramovich will keep faith with the Italian for another season at least. If Ranieri's team go on to triumph in Gelsenkirchen in the Final, then the Italian's position would be virtually secure.

Defeat by Monaco leaves Ranieri in a more vulnerable position, particularly if Manchester United overtake the Stamford Bridge club to finish second behind Arsenal in the final Premiership table and thereby secure automatic qualification for next season's Champions League.