Football: Drogba warning: Stop the civil war.

Byline: By NEIL McLEMAN

DIDIER DROGBA has appealed to Chelsea to stop the civil war - or risk seeing the season torn apart by bitter infighting.

"It's not an easy situation to deal with," said the Ivory Coast striker.

"We can't do anything about the tension. The moment the coach and the management are not pulling in the same direction, it has repercussions on the performance of the players."

The open feud between owner Roman Abramovich and Jose Mourinho has coincided with the club's worst run since the Portuguese coach arrived in West London from Porto in Portugal.

The champions have won only one of their last five Premiership games to slip six points behind Manchester United - and were held to a draw at League Two Wycombe in the first leg of the Carling Cup semi-final.

The Russian billionaire has missed Chelsea's last two games - and so far failed to sanction any reinforcements for his coach during the January transfer window.

With the club split into two camps, even chief executive Peter Kenyon admitted to a "tension" he described as "healthy" at the weekend.

Drogba dismissed talk of disunity within the dressing room and insisted fellow striker Andriy Shevchenko enjoys his full support.

But the pounds 24million striker - 21 goals this season - said: "A team is always a reflection of the way the club is run. Look at the results - they speak for themselves."

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FEUD FOR THOUGHT: Drogba' KENYON: No panic