Scolari set to ditch Drogba over his secret Inter talks

Luiz Felipe Scolari is ready to drop Didier Drogba to the bench against Bordeaux tonight as a punishment for meeting with Inter Milan officials behind Chelsea's back.

The Blues are stunned by Drogba's decision to talk with Inter Milan general manager Marco Branca and Jose Mourinho's agent Jorge Mendes in a Fulham restaurant on Monday night.

Drogba was set to start in the Champions League clash against the French club as he is currently unavailable domestically after being given a three-match ban for throwing a coin at Burnley fans two weeks ago.

He was already in Scolari's bad books for his ill-discipline against Burnley. But the Chelsea manager, who said he knew nothing about the striker's meeting with Inter, is furious that his preparations for tonight's game have been interrupted, and is expected to get tough by keeping Nicolas Anelka up front instead of Drogba.

When questioned about the 30-year-old's whereabouts on Monday, Scolari said: "I don't sleep with Didier. Where he was, I don't know.

"I'm not the policemen for my players. I don't know if he had permission to talk to them. Ask Peter Kenyon or Roman Abramovich."

Former Chelsea boss Mourinho, now manager of Inter, has been linked with a move for Drogba before.

He said: "I don't know if the meeting took place between my agent and Drogba. I was with Rui Faria [Inter's fitness coach] and our families having dinner."