5 reasons why Chelsea must not sack Antonio Conte

Antonio Conte has enjoyed a topsy-turvy ride since taking over as Chelsea boss in the summer of 2016. After the Italian went on to win the Premier League with the London giants in his first season with the club, Chelsea are now tottering at 5th position in the table and risk missing out on the UEFA Champions League.

The former Juventus boss is struggling to cope up with expectations in his second season as Chelsea are currently locked in a 4-way battle for 3 slots, seeing as how Manchester City are all but assured Champions.

Rumor mills are buzzing that the 47-year-old will be relieved of his duties in the summer after falling out with the Blues' board over transfer dealings.

Chelsea are already said to have lined up former Barcelona boss Luis Enrique as a possible replacement for Conte and while several names have popped up from Thomas Tuchel to Carlo Ancelloti, nothing concrete has surfaced.

#1 Avoid the merry-go-round

Roman Abramovich is known for his trigger finger when it comes to sacking managers.

Chelsea under Roman Abramovich have had a history of chucking out managers as soon as things go downhill. The Blues' owner is known to be trigger happy when it comes to firing managers.

Even the 'Special One' was deemed not so special by the Russian just 6 months after winning the Premier League during his second stint with the club. Contrary to how other clubs like Liverpool and Arsenal function, Chelsea's managerial position seems to have a 'do-or-die' clause that is not productive in the longer run. So, if Chelsea are to avoid the merry go round of shuffling between managers, the club must give Conte the time and resources to bounce back next season.

#2 Not enough backing from the board

Antonio Conte has complained about lack of transfer ambition from the club.

The Italian has not been fully backed by the Chelsea board this season despite the Italian having made a massive impact at Stamford Bridge last season. Repeatedly this season, the man at the helm of Chelsea has spoken to the press about his paper thin squad and how the transfer targets he had have not aligned with those the board brought in.

Conte arrived at a time when the club was in turmoil, having sacked Jose Mourinho earlier in the season and finishing tenth in the league - Antonio's Chelsea accumulated a record 30 wins in 38 matches to lift the trophy was nothing short of a miracle.

His impressive feats from last season deserve some respect from the board and the club need to show solidarity with the manager.

#3 Still in search of leadership

Chelsea had strong characters in the team till recently to keep the dressing room together.

As recently as Jose Mourinho's return to the club - Chelsea were changing managers like no other club in Europe, but the blues always had the luxury of having a group of leaders in the first team. Through the going and coming of old and new managers, the core group of players remained fairly the same, seeing the team through tough times.

John Terry, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole, Petr Cech and Didier Drogba made sure that the teams morale didn't suffer during any given managerial change, but Chelsea do not have the same luxury anymore as the club lacks players with the same leadership skills at the moment. Team captain Gary Cahill has often been sidelined with injury or form and Azpilicueta, despite all his heroics on the field, his still young and has a lot to learn before Chelsea can replace the likes of John Terry with him. The only way to do that would be to keep Conte in charge and let him inject Azpilicueta with more confidence till he becomes a legend in his own right.

#4 Building a dynasty

The past and the present. But the future?

Jose Mourinho was touted as the one who would emulate Sir Alex Ferguson's legacy at Chelsea of building a dynasty, but unfortunately, that didn't go according to plan.

If Chelsea are to actually become the biggest club in the world they need to build a dynasty - something similar to the likes of Barcelona and Manchester United and Bayern Munich, and there is no one better than Antonio Conte to do the job.

The Italian is just 47, which means he has at least one good decade of coaching career ahead of him - he has proved it time and again that he is a genius tactician, meaning this could be Chelsea's one final chance to build that kingdom that Abramovich so badly yearns for.

#5 Stamford Bridge faithful love him

Conte is adored by the Chelsea fans and sacking him could result in an unnecessary backlash

It is not easy to get the fans to love you when you come in after Jose Mourinho, but Conte has actually done it. Conte has struck a romantic relationship with the Stamford Bridge faithfuls and the Italian's name is sung by the Blues fans not just at home but also at away games. Chelsea's famed Pensioners have shown true loyalty to their boss even when the team was losing 4-1 at Watford.

Chelsea fans love the former Italy boss and have made it clear that they do not want to see the back of him just yet.

No other manager in the club's history has seen this kind of support from the fans - so the board needs to keep the fans in mind before Abramovich's impatience ends up causing a unhappy atmosphere at the Bridge.

All they need to do is sit back, relax and let Conte be Conte.