Carlo Ancelotti admits he is lucky to have kept his job as Chelsea manager after presiding over the worst run of form under the reign of owner Roman Abramovich.
The Blues have taken just 10 points from their last 10 Barclays Premier League matches and just two from their last five away games - a poor run which has seen them slide to fifth place.
They face Wolves at Molineux tomorrow night when a win is vital if they are not to lose touch with the Premier League pace-setters.
When the former AC Milan boss was asked if he would have been sacked by now if he was still in Italy, he replied: "I am a lucky man. I understand that a lot of coaches are sacked with results like these."
However, Ancelotti wants to be judged on his results at the end of the season.
He added in the Daily Mail: "When you go to a restaurant, you have to pay the bill when finish your meal.
"It's the same here. We have to pay the bill at the end of the season. At the end the club can judge me. The best food would be the Champions League. I've tasted it sometimes and it's good."
But if Ancelotti is not to pay too high a price come May, he needs his team to find some consistency, having been let down by conceding late goals in recent games.
"Against Everton we conceded in the 86th minute," he said. "We missed a penalty at Tottenham and conceded in the last minute against Aston Villa. We have lost six points in the last minute and with those six points we'd be top of table."
The January transfer window could provide a boost, but Ancelotti does not want to make any panic buys - and has ruled out a move for David Beckham.
"When the Champions League comes back, we need to have a squad without injuries," he said.
"If the club does buy, it will not be just for this year. We are looking for young players but ones with experience who don't need time to adapt.
"Beckham is a fantastic player and could be good for Tottenham, but we're not interested. In that position we have good players.
"The young players are in the squad because we trust them."