Jose Mourinho has insisted he will only resign as Chelsea manager if he loses the support of his players, following a crisis meeting at Stamford Bridge after Saturday’s 3-1 defeat by Southampton. The Special One stated: 'Go straight to the players. If they tell you they don’t trust me, that is the only thing that can make me resign. The only thing.'
Owner Roman Abramovich reportedly remained at the stadium until around midnight for an urgent inquest into the shambolic defeat, which saw fans turn on Mourinho and left players incredulous. The decision to substitute Nemanja Matic just 26 minutes after bringing him on at half-time was particularly poorly received, though Mourinho defended the move.
It has emerged that Mourinho exchanged heated words with both John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic in recent weeks. However, Terry publicly backed the manager, saying: 'We have the best manager who we remain behind ... and the players will remain together and fight.'
The defending champions have just eight points from eight games, and no team with such a start has finished above fifth. Pundits Jamie Redknapp and Alan Shearer have questioned whether the players are still listening to Mourinho, with Redknapp claiming the team's performance showed a lack of response to the manager.
