Manager Andre Villas-Boas insisted neither his job nor Chelsea’s season hinged on the outcome of the club’s Champions League clash with Napoli after his side’s shock failure to beat Birmingham in the FA Cup on Saturday.

Villas-Boas’s players did nothing to ease the pressure on their manager with a performance that almost saw them dumped out of another competition.

Chelsea will need to improve immeasurably to avoid crashing out of the Champions League, with only two days to find a solution to their miserable form before the first leg of their last-16 tie in Italy.

But even if they fail to progress, Villas-Boas was confident he would not be sacked by billionaire Blues owner Roman Abramovich.

Asked if the outcome would have any impact on his future, the 34-year-old said: “No, not at all. It’s not up to me to decide that. You have to ask that question to the right person.”

Chelsea’s performance appeared to show the summit meeting earlier in the week between Villas-Boas and his players had little effect.

The Blues boss was reportedly challenged openly by some of his squad during frank exchanges, but if he was expecting a positive response, he failed to get it as they stuttered to a 1-1 draw against below-strength Championship opponents on Saturday.

“We were not good enough,” Villas-Boas said.

“Better in the second half but not enough to win the game. Never satisfying when you draw at home to a Championship team.”

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