TERRACE TALK: Chelsea: Hard to complain but another escape to victory

Our manager continued his war with the media this week by doing his best surly teenager impression.

He dutifully sat in front of the press but did nothing to hide his disdain. Withering looks and a sneering curled lip greeted every question from the floor.

Villa Park has not been a happy hunting ground for Jose so when our hosts equalised, I automatically feared the worst. Especially as we weren’t playing very well — it was a patchy performance at best.

I’d imagine that by this point in the season he would expect the team to be au fait with his tactics, game-plan, philosophy. But I’m not sure they are all fully tuned in.

It is hard to complain too loudly while sitting top of the league by seven points but I feel he is worried. If Mourinho is worried, I am worried.

I’m not naive enough to have expected us to walk the league as we did under his first tenure. Things have changed — the competition has changed, developed, improved almost beyond recognition.

Mourinho has always been able to ensure his players deliver on a consistent basis, week in, week out. But some individual displays this season have veered from the sublime to the ridiculous.

These in turn have led to costly lapses. How many times have we conceded sloppy goals after the ball has been given away far too cheaply?

I remember when we won the league the second time under Mourinho and how easy every game was. It wasn’t a case of wondering whether we’d win any given match, but how many goals we’d win it by.

I remember musing at the time how dull it must have been to be a United fan and be that confident year in, year out.

And here I am this season a complete nervous wreck — terrified of dropping points — making every game a torturous 90- minute ordeal.

However, even when we are not at our best, we still have a tendency to get something from our matches (with a couple of notable exceptions) which I’m sure both Pellegrini and Wenger would take at the moment.

Jose looked genuinely relieved or jubilant at the final whistle — a personal hoodoo overcome, a potential banana-skin avoided, proof that we can win without Costa.

It’s not just his goals we miss but his presence — the fear he generates within the opposition.

The team play with more conviction with him and sadly Drogba just doesn’t even come close in terms of productivity — a tough ask at the best of times but nigh on impossible when you take into account Didier’s age.

It’s no walk in the park at the moment, nor is it pretty. This league will be won by hard work, mental resilience and holding nerve. No team has proven its superiority in those aspects yet, although we are beginning to stake a claim.