Chelsea sack manager Mourinho

Jose Mourinho is set to be paid for the remainder of his Chelsea contract after leaving the club on Thursday.

“One of the biggest clubs in the world is one point above relegation in the Premier League and that’s not good enough”.

Kezman, who briefly played under Mourinho during the Portuguese’s first spell in charge of Chelsea, said: “I am not surprised by (owner Roman) Abramovich’s decision to (get rid of) Mourinho”.

Mourinho has been relieved of his role just seven months after guiding Chelsea to the Premier League title, owing to the dismal run of nine defeats in 16 league matches this term.

Mourinho went on the offensive after Monday’s 2-1 defeat at Leicester City – which was a ninth defeat in 16 league games – when he accused some of the players of betraying his work.

Reports have emerged that former Socceroos coach Guus Hiddink will take over from Mourinho.

“All at Chelsea thank Jose for his enormous contribution since he returned as manager in the summer of 2013”, Chelsea said.

Hiddink was interim boss at Stamford Bridge following Luiz Felipe Scolari’s dismissal in February 2009 but always made it clear he would not stay beyond the end of the season, one which ended with victory over Everton at Wembley.

The Blues are now 66/1 to be relegated to the Sky Bet Championship, 200/1 to retain their title and 11/1 to finish in the top four.

“I find it irresponsible from a players” point of view, especially when they come out after the game and say: “We’ve done that for the old manager'”.

Mourinho is our most successful manager with a genuine love for the club.

Mourinho’s enduring hero status at Stamford Bridge means the Chelsea players could be in for a rough reception when they face Sunderland on Saturday, but Emenalo is adamant that there is no reason to doubt the levels of commitment within the squad.

Mourinho had guided Chelsea to a Premier League and League Cup double last season.

Guus Hiddink was named as Chelsea’s new manager by his former employers in Australia on Friday – before any official announcement from the Barclays Premier League club.

“This is essentially the same group of players who won the league and the League Cup last season”.

The messy departure of Dr Eva Carneiro, who is involved in a legal dispute with the club after being branded “naive” by Mourinho in August, has been another negative stain on Chelsea’s season.

“It’s probably been the most hard time of his career and he’s been left thinking: ‘What do I do next?’ because we’ve never seen him in this situation where he’s struggling for results and people are questioning him”.