Jose Mourinho: Mid-table finish wouldn’t get me bullet

It’s a remarkable claim, but then these are remarkable times at Chelsea. Jose Mourinho believes he would not be sacked even if the champions finish mid-table this season. This time, he says, it’s “different” — but the Portuguese did add a caveat.

“I was not told that because we don’t expect to finish mid-table,” Mourinho insisted.

All of that forms one reason why he says he did not expect to get sacked after Chelsea’s 3-1 home defeat to Southampton either — despite anxiously bringing that prospect into the public domain in the first place by mentioning it on Sky himself.