What now for dethroned Chelsea?

JOSE MOURINHO will rebuild his Chelsea squad this summer and limit his trophy-winning ambitions to the Champions League and the Barclays Premiership title next term.

After a season when Chelsea found they could not cope with the rigours of chasing glory on all four fronts, the Blues manager will set his sights on what he sees as the two biggest prizes in the game.

He will have been hurt by Manchester United’s resurgence and subsequent title success and it will have provided him with the incentive and drive to stay at Stamford Bridge and win it back.

But it is the failure to make his mark in the Champions League that will be the motivating force behind the changes he will make to his squad.

Since Mourinho arrived, Chelsea have lost in the semi-finals to Liverpool twice and gone out in the last-16 stage to Barcelona. For a man as driven as Mourinho, it is not acceptable.

But he knows his failure to win the Champions League was hampered by the loss of key players at various times.

Goalkeeper Petr Cech’s fractured skull, captain John Terry’s back surgery, Joe Cole’s foot problem and Arjen Robben’s intermittent injuries all contributed to Chelsea’s downfall.

It is a testament to Mourinho’s managerial skills that even without his star players, Chelsea remained involved in all four competitions until the final stages.

But the speculation surrounding his own future did not help his cause — uncertainty that ended with a Chelsea statement that made it clear his future at the club was assured.

But there is no doubting he was unhappy with billionaire owner Roman Abramovich’s decision not to give him any cash in the January transfer winder. Mourinho wanted to strengthen a defence robbed of Terry’s influential presence but the ‘Special One’s’ request was denied.

It caused a rift widened further by Abramovich’s intervention over the use of Ukrainian striker Andriy Shevchenko and while the pair appear to have made friends once more, the real test will come when the Portuguese coach hands the Russian his shopping list for the summer.

That is because to win both the Champions League and regain the title, Mourinho knows there has to be both surgery and high class additions. Carlo Cudicini, Geremi, Paulo

Ferreira, Shaun Wright-Phillips, and Shevchenko are almost certain to depart — allowing Mourinho to spend some of the cash he needs on bolstering his defence and giving his attack some much needed firepower.

Didier Drogba’s 30-plus goal haul this season was outstanding but if the Ivorian had been playing alongside an equally potent partner, then Chelsea may well have landed the Premiership and Champions League crowns.

But Salomon Kalou is not ready yet and Shevchenko, for all his ego, reputation and desire, has shown that his game does not suit English football. Mourinho would best cut his losses and let him move on. Valencia’s David Villa is the main target for Mourinho even though he respectfully denied having an interest in him when Chelsea met the Spanish side in the last eight of the Champions League.

His physical prowess and speed are suited to the Premiership.

But he will also require another striker as back-up while Kalou finds his level — and that’s where Tottenham’s Jermain Defoe comes in.

The England striker is unhappy at playing second fiddle to Robbie Keane and he has the speed and quality required to be the perfect foil to either Drogba or Villa.

But the major problem area is in defence. Ferreira, Geremi and Cudicini are set to seek pastures new with Glen Johnson returning from his loan spell at Portsmouth to fill the right-back slot.

But the injuries to Terry, Ricardo Carvalho and Khalid Boulahrouz during a crucial period have taught Mourinho that cover in that department cannot be overlooked.

Bolton’s Tal Ben Haim, a player pursued unsuccessfully in the January window, will again be coveted.

As will Manchester City’s Micah Richards — a player admired by Mourinho and his staff and who, like Villa and Defoe, will not come cheap. But the England international has the power and physique, combined with speed and quality, to give Chelsea that extra edge at the back.

In midfield, the emergence of Mikel John Obi and Lassana Diarra will allow Mourinho the relative luxury of leaving the department virtually intact.

Michael Ballack, Michael Essien, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Mikel and Diarra have the qualities necessary to provide the quality service to the front line and bag a few goals themselves.

But it is likely Mourinho will choose to jettison Claude Makelele. The France veteran is not the player he once was and with Mikel proving he can fill the midfield holding role, Mourinho can finally allow the Frenchman to leave.

These changes allied to securing the services of Terry and Lampard on long-term contracts will provide Mourinho with the platform to accomplish the next stage of his future vision.

He has already begun to communicate that vision to his key players, and while their season may now revolve around the FA Cup on May 19 at the new Wembley, Mourinho is already plotting to become king of Europe for the second time and to meet the challenge of a resurgent United and Liverpool over the next 12 months.

The ‘Special One’ will be back.