Villas-Boas had no chants

WAVE GOODBYE ... Andre Villas-Boas

IT is bad enough when the opposition supporters sing 'You're getting sacked in the morning'.

But when your own fans join in, you know your time is up.

Andre Villas-Boas had become accustomed to hearing that cruel jibe after overseeing Chelsea's worst campaign in 10 years.

Yesterday, those taunts proved chillingly prophetic as the club formally announced that they had sacked yet another manager.

AVB had been naively insisting for weeks he had the full backing of owner Roman Abramovich.

But he suddenly changed his tune in the last few days and admitted he did not know how long he would survive at Stamford Bridge.

That is the trouble with Chelsea. Everything depends on the whims of one man who can wake up on any given morning and suddenly decide on a complete change of policy.

That happened last year, when all the hard work involving financial self-sufficiency was simply ripped up and £71.3million was spent in a single day on Fernando Torres and David Luiz.

And, by the way, how mental does that decision now look?

Eight months ago, Abramovich concluded that Chelsea needed an ambitious young boss to shake up the dressing room and re-energise the club.

He has changed his mind again, torn up AVB's £4.5m-a-year contract and is searching for yet another superstar manager with a long CV of silverware.

That is why no one in the Chelsea boardroom is ever prepared to put their head above the parapet. Because Bruce Buck, Ron Gourlay, Dave Barnard and even Eugene Tenenbaum know that when push comes to shove, their opinions count for nothing.

And anything they might say today could leave them with egg all over their faces tomorrow.

In nine years as owner of Chelsea, Abramovich has never uttered a public word about his team.

We presume he talks to the executives who are nominally charged with running the club. But we'll have to take their word for it.

So the only certainty about Chelsea under the secretive Russian oligarch is that failure will not be tolerated.

That is why it came as absolutely no surprise when Villas-Boas was dismissed yesterday, the seventh boss to bite the dust at Stamford Bridge since Abramovich took charge at Stamford Bridge in 2003. Saturday's 1-0 defeat by West Brom leaves AVB's team fifth in the Premier League table, 20 POINTS behind leaders Manchester City.

They have won just three of their last 12 league fixtures and are in serious danger of failing to qualify for next season's Champions League.

Tomorrow, they travel to Birmingham for an FA Cup replay which no one can confidently predict.

So the question that has to be asked is how did Chelsea become so ordinary so quickly?

When Carlo Ancelotti was sacked on the final day of last season, he left a team which finished runners-up to Manchester United.

The previous year they had won the league and FA Cup Double. But now they are so far off the pace they need a telescope to see the top.

AVB has to shoulder a lot of the blame. He tried to impose a dynamic, quick-passing game on players simply not suited to that style of play. But the players are just as culpable and must not be allowed to think they can see off another manager without being called to account.

Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole have both voiced their opposition to AVB's methods yet, against West Brom, they were anonymous.

Didier Drogba worked hard but never looked like scoring, Daniel Sturridge squandered two glorious chances, Ramires was invisible while Luiz was once again all over the place.

To be fair to Villas-Boas, he faced his critics after every game, even if he rarely gave any meaningful answers.

But his final Press conference simply confirmed he had no idea how much longer he was going to be given. He said: "I spoke to the owner two days ago. I don't have to disclose the conversation.

"I didn't say anything to the players after this game. We all understand we weren't good enough.

"Everybody, from staff to players, is responsible for the result. And myself, as manager, I am also responsible.

"I heard what the supporters were singing. But this is not about me. It's about Chelsea FC."

Unfortunately for Villas-Boas, he will not be given the opportunity to turn things around.

Roberto Di Matteo has been placed in charge for the rest of the season, starting with tomorrow's awkward FA Cup fifth-round replay.

But he will not be getting the job on a long-term basis.

That dubious distinction will go to abigger name who will be expected to work under impossible conditions before leaving with his reputation in shreds.