Ranieri still in limbo

The saga over Claudio Ranieri’s future at Chelsea looks set to drag on for at least another couple of weeks.

Ranieri and Peter Kenyon emerged from so-called showdown talks last night with the manager’s position remaining exactly as it has been all season – uncertain.

The Chelsea boss and chief executive had a "very pleasant" meeting at Stamford Bridge yesterday afternoon despite the constant speculation surrounding the coach’s post.

But the discussions, billed as a definitive summit to decide whether or not the Italian would be axed when the season ends in two months, were inconclusive.

Ranieri met Kenyon at Stamford Bridge at lunchtime and later returned to the ground to continue preparations for Saturday’s home match with Everton and the Champions League semi-final against Monaco in Monte Carlo on Tuesday.

Phil Smith, an agent for Ranieri’s advisors First Artist Corporation, told The Independent: “Had they been sixth or seventh in the League and out of Europe it might have been different.

“We have been trying to push it so that it [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.”

Chelsea again kept quiet, continuing their silence over the issue which has completely overshadowed their season.

The club described the meeting as “a private matter” and refused to comment despite the hype over the talks.

Ranieri, 52, is under contract until 2007 and would land a £6m (€8.9m) pay-off if he is sacked.

But the pay-out would be small change for Abramovich, who is worth in excess of £5bn (€7.5bn).

Ranieri has won many admirers for his courteous and polite manner despite his club’s moves to get rid of him.

And Smith emphasised both Ranieri and Kenyon are keen to focus on progressing past Monaco into the Champions League final rather than the manager’s future.

“Both parties want to make sure nothing gets in the way of having the best possible preparations for arguably the biggest game in the club’s history,” he added.

“They want to make sure nothing goes amiss and concentrate on the semi-final and achieving their target of finishing at least second in the league.”