Claudio: Let me see this team reach their peak
Claudio Ranieri wants to fulfil his contract at Chelsea to see the squad he has assembled blossom into a team that can win the game's major honours.
The future of the Chelsea manager has been the subject of constant speculation with England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson tipped to take over at the end of the season.
The Chelsea manager has a history of leaving teams before they reach their full potential - at Napoli, Atletico Madrid and Valencia - and he said today: "I have always taken much pleasure in building a team and seeing it grow. I would love, one time, to be able to take it a whole cycle. I hope that will be possible at Chelsea where I have a contract until June 2006."
Speaking in France Football magazine, Ranieri revealed: "We are trying to come of age as soon as possible but it difficult to say where we are in our development. There has to be a communal spirit built among the players. We started well but then came across a difficult period around Christmas before putting things right again.
"I hope the resumption of the European Cup will register as a phase of growth."
Ranieri also described his first meeting with new owner Roman Abramovich. "It was very important," he said. "We talked about a lot. He wanted to know my strategy, what I wanted to achieve. Now you will see if he is happy with my work. If he is not, Mr Abramovich will replace me. That is not a problem for me. I am 52, experienced in my life and my profession. I know perfectly well that you cannot control everything. To begin with their are the constant rumours about my successor on the Chelsea bench. I have learned to live with that."
He conceded that in a high profile job like Chelsea, expectations are high but he is not intimidated by that. "I deal with things the best way possible and move forward in the way that I told the president about when he first arrived. I am willing to bet on my work. After that, the only judge will be Mr Abramovich.
"He hasn't given me a date to achieve goals . . . two months, three months, one year. He knows it takes time. I will devote myself to my work in that time, not answer all the gossip behind my back. I don't need to put myself under extra pressure when I have enough already."
