Roman Abramovich will refuse to allow player power to decide the fate of Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte even though it may only be a matter of time until the Italian departs.

Former managers Luiz Felipe Scolari, Andre Villas-Boas and, to a lesser extent, Jose Mourinho, at the end of his second spell, became victims of player dissatisfaction at Stamford Bridge.

But with the club legends such as John Terry, Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and Petr Cech all gone, along with Branislav Ivanovic, it is understood that none of the current squad have a direct line to Chelsea owner Abramovich.

Abramovich has been in London and was at the home defeat to Bournemouth that preceded Monday night’s loss to Watford, but he has not canvassed the opinion of Conte’s crop of players as Chelsea wait to see whether they can lift themselves out of their recent slump.

The billionaire has visited the training ground to speak with Conte personally during difficult periods in the past and will deal directly with the 48-year-old, director Marina Granovskaia and the rest of the Chelsea board, rather than the playing staff.