With Chelsea’s manager fired after finishing runners-up, how many Premier League managers would pass the Roman Abramovich test?

Two managers were fired within minutes of the final whistle at the end of the Premier League season, both in more or less public areas of away grounds, and while both dismissals attracted criticism for crassness and insensitivity at least West Ham let Avram Grant know what was coming – as if he couldn’t guess – before he went out to face the cameras and press to speak on his team’s behalf. Chelsea couldn’t even get that right. Waiting for Carlo Ancelotti at the foot of the press room stairs indicates the club got its timing wrong by about 10 minutes. Intercepting the manager as he climbed the same stairs would have been better, but Chelsea inexcusably allowed an employee who has put his all into the club in the past two years to conduct media interviews on the subject of his future before making him look silly almost immediately afterwards.

One cannot blame Roman Abramovich for that level of classlessness – the decision may have come from on high but it was up to the people on the spot to act with more decorum. Could anyone imagine Sir Alex Ferguson or Arsène Wenger being hung out to dry in such a fashion after years of sterling service? All right, Ancelotti managed just two years at Chelsea, but he won a league and Cup double in that time and no one else in the club’s history has done that.

There is an opinion forming that Ancelotti deserved to be sacked, because Chelsea started to go backwards in the Champions League, and because he appeared impotent and unable to turn things round when the team hit a prolonged bad patch in the Premier League around Christmas. While there may be something in that argument it would not have done Chelsea any harm to let Ancelotti see out the third year of his contract, because it will be an enormous surprise if Guus Hiddink, or whoever is brought in as a replacement, can turn Chelsea back into world beaters in the space of 12 months.

A certain amount of rebuilding is necessary, one or two older players need to be replaced by younger ones, and the best way to do that is with continuity from the top. That is to say, a manager who knows everyone within the club and has a shrewd idea of what is available elsewhere, not a new guy who is going to take the first half of the season to appraise the situation. Fair enough, Hiddink would not strictly be a new guy, but the squad he galvanised so effectively for half a season in 2009 is two years older and looking it. And while José Mourinho came straight in seven years ago and put a first title for 50 years on the sideboard without appearing to need any time to get his feet under the table, he did so with the aid of massive spending on the likes of Didier Drogba, Petr Cech, Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira so that Chelsea could hit the ground running.

Anyway, the point is that the new Chelsea manager is going to be under extreme pressure, because if winning the Double is no longer enough to keep you in employment 12 months down the line, even though you beat off Arsenal and Manchester City to finish runners-up behind Manchester United, a new standard for ruthlessness has been set for English football. Fortunately, not every owner is as impatient and trigger-happy as Abramovich, nor as willing to keep spending to cover previous mistakes. But if they were there would be only two or three managers in the division safe in their jobs. If Abramovich had the final say on everybody’s Premier League season, here’s what the end of term report might look like…

Carlo Ancelotti Thumbs down. No progress in Europe and lost at home to Sunderland.

Steve Bruce Thumbs down. Should have been out by Christmas, thus avoiding the annual new-year slump.

Owen Coyle Thumbs sideways (one more season). Didn’t care for 5-0 thumping at Wembley or losing the last five league games, but Bolton generally on the up and full marks for Stuart Holden.

Kenny Dalglish Thumbs up. Did far better than could possibly have been expected, and removing him now would cause some sort of red riot.

Sir Alex Ferguson Thumbs up. You can’t knock success, and he’s in another Champions League final in a few days. Have to mark him down a few points if he loses to Barcelona again, though. Wouldn’t make the Chelsea shortlist with a record like that.

Avram Grant Thumbs down. Never looked capable of turning situation around. Also failed to beat Manchester United in Moscow.

Roy Hodgson Thumbs up. A brilliant success once he found the right club in West Brom. Let’s not go into what happened at Liverpool.

Ian Holloway Thumbs down. Sorry, but some of us aren’t in the game for entertainment value, never mind comedy. I want a manager who can change things when they start to go wrong, not blithely carry on playing the same way.

Gérard Houllier Thumbs down. Get well soon, and enjoy the happiest of retirements.

Roberto Mancini Thumbs up. City did everything that could be expected, and must now win the league or the Champions League next season. And sort out Carlos Tevez. Not to mention Mario Balotelli and Emmanuel Adebayor. No pressure, or anything, but win the Champions League and there might be an opening at Chelsea…

Mark Hughes Thumbs sideways. Used to play for Chelsea, and Fulham finished eighth, after all. That’s creditable by any standards, even if Aston Villa somehow managed ninth.

Steve Kean Thumbs down. If the Blackburn players are capable of three goals before half-time playing for their lives away from home on the last day, what on earth have they been playing at in all the other games this season? Needs a good start next season or will be back under pressure straight away.

Mick McCarthy Thumbs down. Went three goals down to Blackburn at home on last day of season. Who could be happy with that? Not much of a cause for celebration if you ask me.

Alex McLeish Thumbs down. Got lucky in last few minutes at Wembley. Otherwise a terrible season.

Roberto Martinez Thumbs down. Nice guy with nice line in Houdini-type escapes, but only Birmingham scored fewer goals than Wigan. Not much entertainment on offer at the DW until last game against West Ham.

David Moyes Thumbs down. Nine years without a trophy? Is that a misprint? Do Everton fans not like winning or something?

Alan Pardew Thumbs sideways. Difficult job and only been there half a season. Deserves another go. Finishing 12th was quite impressive for Newcastle, but try telling the fans that.

Tony Pulis Thumbs sideways. Stoke are in Europe. Can’t argue with that. Can’t be happy with finishing 13th, though. Need to win something soon.

Harry Redknapp Thumbs down. Spurs won fewer than half of their league games and ended up in the Europa League. Enough said.

Arsène Wenger Thumbs down. Six seasons without a trophy is longer than Everton, and Everton haven’t been finishing in the top four and earning Champions League money every year. Something almost lightweight about Arsenal this season.

Carlo AncelottiRoman AbramovichChelseaPaul Wilsonguardian.co.uk

• Manager claims there are no problems in the squad
• Ancelotti hints at potential transfers this month

Carlo Ancelotti says Chelsea’s poor recent form, which has all but eliminated them from title contention, has not broken the spirit of the squad. The manager added that there were no problems between the players despite a recent spat between the captain, John Terry, and striker Didier Drogba.

Chelsea were beaten 1-0 by Wolves last night as they recorded their worst Premier League run since the 1995-96 season. A miserable haul of 10 points from 11 games has put Ancelotti’s side nine points behind the leaders, Manchester United, having played a game more, and the run of results has called Ancelotti’s position into question.

He claimed after the match he did not fear the sack from the club’s owner, Roman Abramovich, but anything other than a win at home to Ipswich in the FA Cup third-round match on Sunday could make the pressure on him almost unbearable.

But the former Milan manager has urged his players not to lose confidence. “The players are focused. They are working hard. They are staying together,” he said. “There are no problems [in the squad] – they have a good spirit.

“There are a lot of reasons that can explain this moment but that doesn’t matter. Now we have to look forward, to the next game. We have to prepare well and we have above all to maintain confidence at this moment. It’s very easy now to lose confidence.”

He added in an interview with Chelsea TV: “I think that on the training ground everything is OK. The players are working hard. They are angry and they want to move on quickly from this moment.

“I think that to move on quickly from this moment we have to stay compact together. Not just the players, not just the manager, not just the staff – also all the people that are involved with this club with emotion, with passion, can do something to move on quickly from this moment.”

The strength in depth of Chelsea’s squad has been called into question, most notably last month by Terry. Ancelotti revealed there were “some opportunities” for him to bring in reinforcements in the transfer window but was reluctant to elaborate further.

“Looking for the transfer market there are some opportunities we can do something,” he said. “But I think it’s private and confidential. The line-up [against Wolves] was very good. At this moment we have to stay focused on the details.”

Carlo AncelottiChelseaPremier Leagueguardian.co.uk