Chelsea players reportedly want Guus Hiddink to return to the club and replace Andre Villas-Boas.
The pressure on Villas-Boas is growing, with reports earlier this week suggesting that members of his squad were critical of him during a team meeting on Sunday, which was also attended by Blues owner Roman Abramovich.
Abramovich is believed to still be supportive of his manager, but he is now aware of the players' feelings. And with a Champions League last 16 clash with Napoli in the horizon, along with an FA Cup tie against Birmingham this weekend, defeats in either game - or worse, both - will give an indication of just how strong that backing is.
Last Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Everton saw Chelsea slip out of the top four in the Premier League and it is widely thought that failure to at least qualify for the Champions League will almost certainly lead to the 34-year-old being replaced in the summer.
But a change of manager before the end of the season is still a possibility and Abramovich sacked Luiz Felipe Scolari three years ago when he began to fear a top-four place would not be secured - and the Blues are in a far worse position now than they were then.
And according to the London Evening Standard, some of Chelsea's senior pros want AVB to be replaced with Hiddink in a bid to save their season.
Hiddink replaced Scolari during the 2008-09 season and helped Chelsea to win the FA Cup.
The 65-year-old is a free agent having resigned as Turkey coach last November, but he is believed to be keen on a permanent job rather than taking charge on a temporary basis, and is thought to be of interest to Anzhi Makhachkala.
His representative, Cees van Nieuwenhuizen, refused to confirm whether a return to Stamford Bridge was on the cards and said: "I know they are not doing too well at the moment but Guus never puts himself in a position that he says he is interested in whatever job if there is still a coach who is doing the job.
"For him, that's not the way to treat your colleagues."
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