Chelsea players shrug shoulders and look to the future

The first task that Jose Mourinho’s replacement faces is to get a response from a Chelsea squad that had simply stopped listening.

That was never made clearer in the aftermath of a remarkable night at Leicester City on Monday. By the time Chelsea were 2-0 down, it was clear nothing Mourinho had attempted was working. He’d had enough, as his post-game comment reflected. The Portuguese accused his players of “betrayal”.

It was the sort of statement that should have greatly angered the squad, that might have triggered a fundamental breakdown in the relationship.

The actual response? The majority weren’t bothered. And that has been the case with some of Mourinho’s most outlandish public comments about them this season. They didn’t really care.

There is obviously a longer-term issue there, given that many players had simply grown tired of Mourinho’s overarching intensity since February.

Many accept that was a big flaw with the Portuguese, but some around the dressing room feel it reflects a big flaw in this squad too.

Some players think that Mourinho is right, that there are — in the words of a multitude of sources — “not enough leaders”, “not enough players who care enough”, “not enough pride”.

Although many had real issues with the manager, those issues were never overtly evident.

Some close to the squad likened it to a group of disgruntled school children grumbling about the teacher behind his back, rather than men concerned with doing their job properly.

That is a key issue. For all the bad results and recriminations, there was never any open revolt. There were barely any heated arguments. It was a squad with divisions, but they were seldom evident in public.

It cuts across the traditional image of Chelsea as some kind of ‘viper’s nest’, of a team riven with political factions and agendas that cost managers like Andre Villas-Boas and Rafael Benitez their job in the past.

One or two players aside, that image no longer fits. The opposite is now the case and the irony is that Mourinho himself has been responsible. In trying to completely restructure a squad that fitted his image, he created one that lacked his bite. It was a squad, as another source says, that “lacked balls”.

A further irony, though, is that this could suit Mourinho’s replacement. Few coaches require the same labour-intensive model as Mourinho, and a softer approach may temporarily lift everyone.

A more attacking coach may also be able to get a greater cohesion out of Eden Hazard and Diego Costa, since they will now be released from their ex-coach’s constraints. This is a team that requires the attacking imagination that Mourinho couldn’t foster. They also require more goalscorers.

As regards the players’ response to the big news? Some were delighted. Some were sad. Many are now worried about what’s next, given the history of Chelsea in situations like this.

It was a concern they didn’t always show in the fateful last few months.