Sacking Sarri will show Chelsea and Abramovich are ‘weak’ – they must endure pain if they want to change style, says Gary Neville

GARY NEVILLE has urged Chelsea not to sack manager Maurizio Sarri and instead “live through the pain and change”.

Chelsea were thumped 6-0 against champions Manchester City yesterday after conceding four in the opening 25 minutes.

The devastating loss meant Arsenal leapfrogged above the Blues on goal difference as Sarri’s men sunk to sixth.

And it saw the odds slashed on Sarri becoming the latest Blues boss to be axed.

However, pundit and eight-time Premier League winner Neville believes sacking Sarri would be “weak” of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.

Neville said: “If the ownership of the club really do want a higher quality of football then they’re going to have to live through the change.

“Now’s not the time to go weak on that. Now we’ll see in the next 24 to 48 hours whether Chelsea have the belief that they do want to follow through with it.

“In the past I agree, they’ve changed [Andre] Villas-Boas, they’ve changed [Luiz Felipe] Scolari. Are they going to stick with Sarri?

“If they really want this type of football in the long term they’re going to have to maintain a position of the club and live through the pain and change.

“It’s never been what they’ve done before but it’s how intent are they on seeing that style change.

“If they’re intent on that style of football changing, they’re going to have to maintain a manager and not go back to something that’s happened before.

“You talk about Roman Abramovich being motivated by Pep Guardiola’s style of play, which is 75 to 80 per cent possession. Chelsea have never been like that.”

Sarri snubbed a post-match handshake with City boss and managerial pal Pep Guardiola as the Italian stormed down the tunnel.

Ex-Real Madrid boss Zideane Zidane and former PSG manager Laurent Blanc have emerged as odds on favourites to replace Sarri, if he is to be fired.