Former Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri believes club should hang onto current boss Carlo Ancelotti

Carlo Ancelotti, Chelsea

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Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has recieved some backing from fellow Italian, and former Blues boss, Claudio Ranieri ahead of this weekend’s crunch tie with Manchester United.

If the Blues fail to win on Sunday in the Premier League top of the table clash it could lead to the former AC Milan coach’s departure from Stamford Bridge – if rumours are to be believed – after just 12 monthes since winning the Double.

Ranieri was the first Chelsea manager to be sacked by owner Roman Abramovich back in 2004, but he believes this time sacking Ancelotti shouldn’t be the case.

“I don’t know if he has to win the title to stay at Chelsea,” he said, according to the Daily Mirror.

“I think Ancelotti is doing a very good job – you can’t win everything every year.

“Last year, he won the Double. Nobody had done the Double at Chelsea before. Ancelotti is a great coach – he has proved it over the years. I hope he is given the chance to stay at Chelsea and win more trophies in the future.”

Chelsea will be looking to beat United this weekend and a win could see them go top of the league with three game remaining.

“If Chelsea win, they will win the Premier League,” said Ranieri. “They have a lot of strong players capable of going to Old Trafford and getting a result. But United have a lot of strong players as well. There are fantastic players on both sides.”