Ancelotti plays down fan protest

Carlo Ancelotti has laughed off a banner at Chelsea’s training ground demanding his removal and that of owner Roman Abramovich.

Ancelotti and his players arrived at their Cobham base to discover a banner draped across the gates which read: ‘Ancelotti+Abramovich out’, and ‘None of you are fit to wear the shirt’.

Chelsea are mired in their worst run of form for 15 years with just one win in their last eight games, but compared to the fan reactions Ancelotti experienced in Italy, Friday’s protest caused only mirth.

“There was only one?” Ancelotti joked.

“If it’s only one, there’s no problem.”

“In Italy, it’s different. You can find outside the training ground 1,000 people not happy,” he added.

“It’s difficult to fight with 1,000. With one, you can manage.”

“For a manager, it is important at this moment to have the support of the club, of the players, and obviously of the fans – minus one.”

Rather than bow to those demanding sweeping changes, Ancelotti believes it is up to the players and coaching staff to orchestrate a return to form, starting with an FA Cup tie at home to Ipswich on Sunday.

“It is the right way to move on quickly. The problem now here is not the relationship with the club, or with the owner, or with the players.”

“The problem is the team is not doing well. We’ve stayed a long time in a difficult moment, we’ve lost confidence. We spoke with the staff to try to find the solution. The solution is on the pitch – it is not outside the pitch.”

“We started very well this season, with this squad.”

“Everyone was excited to watch our games, was excited to speak about our players, and how we played.”

“I think that these players are able to move on with their quality, with their character, with their personality. We don’t need to have the support from any (new) players.”