Speculation over the future of Chelsea coach Claudio Ranieri has reached giddy new heights after his side's 3-1 Champions League humiliation by 10-man Monaco.

Ranieri's sky-high popularity among fans has slumped after his notorious tinkering with the team let Monaco back into the first leg semi-final game on Tuesday.

Also Read Ranieri blows his sympathy chips Monaco overwhelm Chelsea Images: Chelsea vs Monaco

The apparently unswerving loyalty of his players even took a battering and harsh words were exchanged in the dressing room.

On Thursday Ranieri faced a barrage of critical British newspaper headlines as well as stories confidently handing the top coaching job at Stamford Bridge to Porto coach Jose Mourinho.

Mourinho's side drew 0-0 in the second semi-final on Wednesday with Spanish neighbours Deportivo La Coruna.

The Portuguese has denied any contact with billionaire owner Roman Abramovich, or his chief executive Peter Kenyon, but a British newspaper snapped pictures of the Chelsea pair at Vigo just over the Spanish border and said they had met Mourinho's agent.

Kenyon was all smiles at Nice airport when the dejected players boarded their flight home on Wednesday, though non-commital about Chelsea's future plans.

When Ranieri arrived the pair did not acknowledge each other.

CLUB TENSION

Such tension has been Chelsea's lot since Abramovich bailed the club out of huge debts last July and spent some $200 million on new players.

Employees from doormen to boardroom have felt insecure as former chief executive Trevor Birch and chairman Ken Bates were axed.

"None of us really knows if we will have a job next season," one Chelsea stalwart said.

Ranieri has suffered more than most with constant stories about boardroom approaches to possible successors.

His humour and dignity under pressure earned him respect and sparked campaigns by fans and a London newspaper to keep him in the capital.

The bewildering second-half substitutions on Tuesday when he brought on a third striker in Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, leaving gaps on the flanks that speedy 10-man Monaco tore through, appear to have wiped out much of the goodwill.

Players got in each others' way, the team lost shape and then belief.

Ranieri told a downbeat news conference after the game the fault for the shambles rested entirely with him.

Several of the highly paid squad of mostly experienced internationals have since refused to let the Italian take all the blame.

France and Chelsea captain Marcel Desailly, who faces UEFA punishment after television pictures showed him elbowing Monaco striker Fernando Morientes, said the players might have relaxed too much when Andreas Zikos was dismissed in the 52nd minute.

Eidur Gudjohnsen, one of a handful of Chelsea players who performed consistently on the night said: "We've put ourselves in a difficult position, but we have to believe we can still qualify."

Chelsea need to win by two clear goals and hope Monaco, top scorers in the Champions League so far, fail to find the net in the second leg on May 5.

Despite the acrimony and humiliation it is not the normally ebullient Italian's style to hide. Contrary to most commentators' expectations, Chelsea said on Thursday Ranieri would be holding an open training session on Friday followed by his regular news conference.

Fans who turn out to watch may do so with a rather more critical eye.