Ranieri remains at helm despite sinking feeling

Claudio Ranieri is still in a job after meeting Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon yesterday.

The Italian had feared yesterday's summit at Stamford Bridge was to tell him he was being removed as coach of the west London club.

He had even been expecting to meet the club's billionaire owner Roman Abramovich but the Russian had other business commitments and decided at the last minute not to attend.

And in a surprise development, rather than discussing Ranieri's future, Kenyon simply wanted to discuss possible transfer dealings during the summer.

A Chelsea insider confirmed: "We can confirm that a routine meeting took place today to discuss players."

While the meeting between Ranieri and Kenyon was amicable and did not give a hint that the Italian was a man living on borrowed time, it also did not guarantee his future at the club. In fact there are a number of different scenarios relating to the meeting.

Firstly, Chelsea might be finding it harder than they anticipated to secure a successor to Ranieri. The favourite for the job is Porto coach Jose Mourinho, but it is believed that he is now also wanted by Liverpool to succeed Gerard Houllier.

The Chelsea job is seen as something as a poisoned chalice after last season.

Ranieri led the club to their second most successful campaign ever, as they finished second in the Premiership to secure automatic qualification into the Champions League, as well as reaching the semi-finals of that prestigious competition.

Secondly, it is possible that Ranieri does still have a future at Stamford Bridge in some capacity, especially as his dignified handling of all the speculation surrounding his future helped make him the most popular coach in England, and he does know the club and its players inside-out.

Alternatively, Kenyon might simply have been picking Ranieri's brain, finding out his vision for the way forward for Chelsea, so that any information can be passed on to a new coach.

Meanwhile, Tottenham's search for a manager has taken a fresh twist with Martin Jol, the former West Bromwich and Coventry player, emerging as a candidate. The Dutchman has been recommended by Spurs' new general manager Frank Arnesen.

Jol recently left RKC Waalwijk in search of a fresh challenge after giving the small club unprecedented success in Holland's top flight. He is highly regarded in his homeland for his coaching and detailed knowledge of players throughout Europe.

Arnesen's admiration for Jol is long-standing. He tried to bring the 48-year-old to PSV Eindhoven, the club he is leaving to come to White Hart Lane, before Guus Hiddink took over as head coach after the 2002 World Cup.

Jol is thought to be Arnesen's preferred choice but was not on the shortlist drawn up by Tottenham's board for the manager's job. They would like to bring in Martin O'Neill from Celtic but seem certain to consider Jol seriously given that they greatly value Arnesen's opinion.

Although Jol lacks the profile that Tottenham would like in their new manager, he possesses qualities they set great store by. His skills on the training ground are highly regarded, his obsession with his job means he possesses a fine knowledge of players across the Continent and he has done well at Waalwijk on a tight budget.

Tottenham have also not given up hope of landing Edgar Davids this summer. Davids' agent Robert Geerlings was understood to be in London yesterday having told the Spanish press that an English club had made "a huge offer" for the 31-year-old's services.

Meanwhile, Everton's attempts to revive their fortunes after a demoralising season will prompt a major overhaul in the boardroom and the imminent appointment of Trevor Birch from Leeds as chief executive at the club.

Birch, who also worked in that role at Chelsea prior to the arrival of Peter Kenyon last season, will be charged with attracting much-needed investment to Goodison Park.

The attempts to reinvigorate the club will see the chairman Philip Carter stepping down after 39 years on the board with the chief executive Michael Dunford, whose contract has expired, and the long-serving director Keith Tamlin also set to leave.

The owner Bill Kenwright is instigating the changes and is expected to lead the new board which will include the American Paul Gregg, Arthur Abercromby and Jon Woods. The reshuffle should be confirmed after tomorrow's scheduled board meeting.