Chelsea brutally sacked club icon Frank Lampard on Monday - a change that was first raised at the start of the season.
The Blues are on the brink of appointing Thomas Tuchel as their new head coach following Lampard’s dismissal on Monday.
Owner Roman Abramovich - as revealed by Sportsmail on Thursday - had grown disgruntled at how his expensively assembled team were underperforming and has now paid the price Lampard.
The 42-year-old was informed by director Marina Granovskaia on Monday morning, by which time players had already been told their training session had been put back to the afternoon - a clear indication their manager was gone.