With a dominant 5-0 victory over West Ham on Sunday at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea moved up to seventh place in the English Premier League standings.
After a difficult debut season, Mauricio Pochettino is struggling to persuade co-owner Todd Boehly to give him a second season in command of the team.
Pochettino admits it is “not his decision” if he stays, but securing a place in Europe could be enough to avoid the sack.
Cole Palmer put Chelsea ahead in the 15th minute with his 21st league goal of the season, the forward firing home after West Ham failed to clear.
Conor Gallagher doubled Chelsea’s advantage after 30 minutes with a blistering volley after West Ham’s Kurt Zouma deflected the ball towards the midfielder.
Noni Madueke bagged Chelsea’s third six minutes later as the winger turned in Thiago Silva’s header from close-range.
Nicolas Jackson piled on the misery for woeful West Ham in the 48th minute with a tap-in from Madueke’s cross.
The Senegal striker was on target again with 10 minutes left.
The lopsided nature of defeat did little to quell speculation over the future of West Ham boss David Moyes, who has come under fire from fans for his perceived negative game-plans.
Ninth placed West Ham have reportedly held talks with former Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui and could opt to move on from Moyes, whose contract expires at the end of the season.