If Chelsea's forwards can dance around the Tromso defence with the dexterity shown by their manager yesterday in dodging questions about his future, then Stamford Bridge will be celebrating a place in the quarter-finals of the Cup Winners' Cup tonight.

Ruud Gullit's side need to score one goal and concede none to secure victory over their Norwegian visitors and banish memories of the snowstorm which so nearly blew away their European season in the first leg. Only two late goals from Gianluca Vialli averted the embarrassment of a 3-0 defeat.

If Chelsea progress, that success alone will not be enough to entice Gullit to commit himself to a new contract at the end of the season.

His delay in signing, his decision to take exams at the end of the season for the full coaching badge mandatory for a manager working in Holland or Italy, plus speculation linking him with managerial moves to Feyenoord and Milan, have sparked questions. Yesterday Gullit was not giving many answers.

"Talks with Chelsea about a new contract are ongoing," he said. "There are good reasons to stay here. But it's not just about me getting £30 million and I'll do the job. It's also about the club. The structure here has to be solid so you can go on for 10 years not only one or two - do we have a solid base, do we have the youth? So we have to talk about more global things."

The door is still open for Gullit to stay or for other clubs to entice him away. Victory tonight will only enhance his desirability.

Apart from the long-term injured, Gullit has a full squad from which to pick in the hope of showing Tromso just how well Chelsea can play on grass. However, the Norwegians are a physical side who will seek to sit back and soak up pressure, and in recent home games against Blackburn and Leicester, Gullit's side have struggled to score in such circumstances.

Moreover, Tromso are a team of skill and pace on the counterattack. Vialli issued a warning, saying: "In trying to score we need to be careful. We have to risk going forward, but not too much."

However he was not unduly worried. "I know what will happen," he said with a twinkle in his eye. "This morning I had a feeling about the game. I cannot tell you what it was because it might break the spell. But I've had similar feelings before and they came true 90 per cent of the time."

Italy's league has thrown its weight behind a campaign to introduce two new match officials - a referee at each end just to watch the goalmouth. The campaign, fuelled by the Italian media, started in the wake of Oliver Bierhoff's goal-that-wasn't against Juventus on Sunday. Video footage showed the ball had crossed the line from Udinese's German striker, just before Juventus defender Ciro Ferara's sliding clearance. But neither referee nor linesman were in a position to see the incident.