ESPN STAR Sports football pundit Steve McMahon believes that Chelsea should stick with Carlo Ancelotti, not sack him.

It must have been heart-breaking for Chelsea fans to watch their heroes go down to a 2-1 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford to virtually seal the departure of the Barclays Premier League trophy from their club.

What would have made things worse was the manner of their capitulation, given the loss wasn't because Carlo Ancelotti's men played poorly, but simply that the Red Devils were too good for them on the day.

Post-mortems will certainly be conducted in the halls of Stamford Bridge, because it's become clear that something is amiss at the London club.

In the aftermath of Ray Wilkin's sacking from his position as assistant coach, the club was in complete disarray, and performances on the pitch slumped as players and manager were completely thrown off their stride, which is certainly a key reason why Chelsea will be unable to retain the Premier League trophy this season.

The Blues were also unlucky with injuries and illness this season, after being deprived of spinal players like Frank Lampard, Michael Essien and Didier Drogba at various stages of the season.

What will be even more worrying for the Stamford Bridge hierarchy will be the fact that these players could very well be on their last legs, with John Terry 31 this year, the Ivorian 33, and Essien having constant trouble with his left meniscus.

With all that going on, the chaos must have been disturbing for Ancelotti, and it's a miracle that he has managed to pull the side back up to second place at all!

The fact is, I don't think that the Italian knows what system he wants to play, or even his best team, because he has been chopping and changing more than necessary this season.

There have been plenty of speculation indicating that the 51-year-old will be given his marching orders from owner Roman Abramovich, for failing to bring in silverware this season.

That would certainly be a mistake! In my opinion, the very reason why the Russian's dream of bringing the Champions League trophy to Stamford Bridge has gone unfulfilled is because of Abramovich's penchant for new managers, which has not been helpful in establishing a continuity and system needed to win trophies, like what Sir Alex Ferguson has had at Manchester United.

Most of this Chelsea squad who have won trophies in England were brought in by former manager Jose Mourinho, and with several of these stars starting to reach the wrong end of their twenties, it is the perfect time for a revamp at the club.

What Abramovich needs to do is give Ancelotti the freedom to pick his own players and signings.

Frankly, I don't think that the Italian has done much wrong so far- it has just been one of those seasons.

What the manager needs is simply to re-jig and re-organize this squad at Stamford Bridge, and it wouldn't surprise me if the Blues are back at the pinnacle of English football sooner than later, as long as they stick with Ancelotti!

Steve McMahon was speaking to ESPNSTAR.com's Kelvin Tan