Sitting in the dugout at the Riverside Stadium this afternoon, Luiz Felipe Scolari must have been wondering what all the fuss was about. When his appointment was announced, a number of people pointed out the fact that the Brazilian had never managed in the Premier League before, and hadn’t managed a club side for over five years.

Scolari has taken to the Premier League like a duck to water. His Chelsea side have established themselves at the top of the league and scored a hefty number of goals in the process. The Blues have scored 11 goals in eight games and conceded only one. In the Champions League they sit top of their group, and they are going good guns in the Carling Cup.

Life is good if you’re a Chelsea fan at the moment. Many in the media are starting to be won over by Chelsea new brand of football, and the placid figure at the head of it all.

As I watched the demolition of Middlesbrough, the commentators were positively purring about the sleek new Chelsea. Some are saying that the West Londoners will be hard to stop this season.

However, Scolari doesn’t seem to think so. Speaking after Chelsea’s biggest away win in five years, he urged caution.

“We have a long way to win the Premier League,” he said succinctly.

And he does have a point. One swallow doesn’t make a summer. Just ask Arsene Wenger. The Gunners were top of the table and wowing everybody with their football at this stage last season. Then came that harrowing afternoon against Birmingham. They never seemed the same side after that. Eventually they finished third behind Manchester United and Chelsea.

A season that had promised so much delivered nothing.

Scolari will know that his side has a long way to go before they can start congratulating themselves and relaxing. There is a lot of football to be played between now and May. Trips to Anfield, Old Trafford and the Emirates Stadium await.

Chelsea and Luiz Felipe Scolari would do well to heed the example of Arsenal last season before readying the trophy polish.