Sarri seems to be the hardest word for Chelsea fans. Of the 11 managers Roman Abramovich has employed during his ownership of the club only Rafael Benítez, the “interim one”, appears to have provoked a violent response among the supporters.

For Benítez that reaction was far more extreme, far more toxic and hostile. There was no chance at all that Chelsea fans would take to him given his flimsy job title and Liverpool past which, frankly, was dealt with irrationally. Benítez became the focus of their discontent.

Almost as damagingly Maurizio Sarri appears to provoke little more than indifference, punctuated by a simmering frustration. That was shown again in Sunday’s Premier League victory over Watford: Chelsea were booed off at half-time, when they had been outplayed and it was goalless, and cheered off at full-time after they had secured a 3-0 win.

Then there was the customary end-of-season ‘lap of appreciation’ which was led by club captain Gary Cahill, who has been frozen out by Sarri. The manager did not join in, spent the whole time standing by a dug-out and not once was his name sung.

On the face of it, this is odd. Like Benítez before him, Sarri is on the verge of leading Chelsea to the Europa League final, assuming they negotiate the second leg off their semi-final at home against Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday.