FOWLER Don’t press the panic button... give Sarri time to get over slump, Rom

football’s not played on paper. And let’s face it, if the club needed to get rid of half a dozen players on £200-300k a week or just sack another manager on £100k and hope the next one works out, then what are they going to do?

We all know how massively important the players are now and the power they wield, and as a former player myself, I do feel that is right to a certain extent, because it is the players who produce the game.

Yet there are limits. You’re paid the wages to deliver, not to pick and choose. And when they don’t deliver it’s a horrible situation which now tends to end in the manager going.

What I would say though, is rather than making the choice between players or boss right now, the Chelsea owner must resist the urge to panic. You can’t be getting too carried away because of a bad run.

I know football is a results business and a reactionary business too, with fans now making definitive judgements on an almost game-by-game basis, but that’s not what Chelsea need right now.

They have to stay calm, and see how the squad reacts, see how the manager deals with the slump and that shocking 6-0 defeat at the Etihad.

That’s what it’s always about, after all. Don’t be fooled by Manchester City making it look easy over the past couple of seasons, you always get bad runs as a team. It’s a given, and the key is how you react. So we’ll see against Manchester United in the FA Cup. It’s a huge game, both teams now have so much to play for, because for both, it’s the most realistic chance of a trophy. United are virtually out of the Champions League and while Chelsea still have the Europa League, well, beating Malmo is hardly proof of anything.

Sarri (above) himself said his job is on the line, and we’ll see at Stamford Bridge tomorrow what he’s done about it.

The reaction is key. Can he get the players focused, motivated? Can he convince them to perform? There’s no doubt about the ability in the squad, but what about the egos? Can he use that in a positive way?

As the owner who appointed him, you have to believe he can, and give him the time to prove it.

Patience though, has never seemed a quality in abundant supply at Chelsea.