Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas is under increasing pressure after Roman Abramovich attended training today - the third time in five days the owner has watched from the sidelines.
The Russian first went to Cobham on Saturday, 24 hours before his team threw away a three-nil lead against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge.
He was back at the training base yesterday and the players will be in no doubt about his concerns after he pitched up again today.
The billionaire also marched into the dressing room after Sunday's 3-3 draw with United. He talked with the players for some time but the club are adamant Abramovich was calm and did not berate them.
After yesterday's appearance, Villas-Boas said: "Roman is always very interested in the running of events and it was good for the team to feel his presence. We touched a little bit on next year's project but mainly on Sunday's game.
"Roman is a very educated person to the cause of Chelsea Football Club and his aura is always present."
Abramovich is taking a closer look at affairs at Chelsea now he is no longer distracted by his court battle with Boris Berezovsky after being accused of breach of trust. The trial has ended but the judgment not announced.
Chelsea are in fourth place, just one point ahead of Newcastle, a far cry from what Abramovich expected when he paid Porto £13million for the 34-year-old's services last summer.
Meanwhile, midfielder Frank Lampard returned to
training today having missed the last three games with a calf injury.
