Chelsea lining up Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone as Jose Mourinho replacement

‘I got injured at the end of the season and then I went on holiday. Maybe a few weeks ago, five or six weeks ago, I was not on top of my game. When I returned, I was a little overweight.

The Blues have made a disastrous start to their Premier League title defence and have collected just eight points from as many games in the league.

“I’m happy with the manager”. He’s a clever guy, and one thing I always noticed about his teams – they all try for him, you don’t have any shirkers in his teams.

Costa joins a host of senior players, including John Terry and Cesc Fabregas, who have backed Mourinho in what the Portuguese has described as “worst period in my career”. “He’s direct, straightforward, he says what he thinks and what he believes to be the truth”. “Sometimes it’s not what people want to hear”. He has always been a short-fuse manager but lately, due to Chelsea’s erratic start to the campaign, the pressure has been piling up.

“I think it is very normal that when we are not playing well and we are losing for the manager to take it out on the players”.

The ex-Republic of Ireland global says manager Mourinho is out of his element after a string of bad results and the Chelsea players are no longer giving their all for the boss.

“At times you maybe don’t think you’re getting complete support from everyone, but it happens”. It is a change that could bring in a few solidarity for Chelsea and how vital will it be to have a homegrown player in the middle of the park fighting for every ball.

After Dick Advocaat quit Sunderland and Brendan Rodgers was sacked by Liverpool, Mourinho is now the bookies’ favourite to be the next Premier League manager to lose his job. Maybe he gets criticized because he is very good.

Mourinho “proud” to get Chelsea’s public backing].

Chelsea sit dangerously above the relegation zone in the early stages of the season and Ferguson believes that Mourinho has been asking for the support of the club’s owner. He also appears regularly on numerous talk shows all across the country.

“I have spoken to all of the players and they all feel the same way about Jose”.

While it may seem all doom and gloom after what Chelsea have offered so far this season and it’s easy to write them off given their current state, Jose Mourinho can still redeem their season.