Marshawn Lynch Approach Does Chelsea Manager Jose Mourinho Few Favours

It was Groundhog Day on February 2, so Jose Mourinho must have felt upstaged by Punxsutawney Phil seeing his own shadow.

Tradition states we face another six weeks of winter on the back of those events in Pennsylvania. Judging by Mourinho's press conference performance, it could be a lot longer.

He seems ready to dig his heels in and batten down the hatches in anticipation of a prolonged winter storm.

The Chelsea boss was addressing the media for the first time since he received a £25,000 fine for his comments on there being a "campaign" against his club, and Diego Costa's three-match ban for an apparent stamp on Liverpool's Emre Can.

"You know why I'm here, so you can't expect that I'm super happy to be here," he told one journalist who was brave enough to ask for his thoughts on having to do the press conference.

In case you can't read between the lines, Mourinho was there because he had to be. He had no choice, otherwise even more fines would be coming his way.

Tim Ireland/Associated Press

It was Marshawn Lynch-esque—the Seattle Seahawks running back who did himself no favours with his strategic media appearances ahead of the Super Bowl recently.

And much like Lynch, Mourinho isn't doing himself any favours, either.

He was asked at one stage if he had any team news ahead of the trip to Aston Villa, to which Mourinho's response told us all we needed to know about his feelings on the past couple of weeks and his views on The FA.

Filipe Luis is still injured, he explained, before quite clearly making a point of not naming Diego Costa as another player who will be missing.

"The player who's suspended is suspended," he said.

Were this a prison drama, Mourinho would have us believe Costa is the man wrongly banged up on circumstantial evidence by a sheriff who had cooked the books to get his conviction.

In reality, he's a footballer who is serving a ban after a growing rap sheet caught up with him.

Clive Mason/Getty Images

Normally more responsive and forthcoming, Mourinho's short, to-the-point answers on Friday have made a story out of something that should have been a non-event.

"If I was a journalist, from silence I could make lots of words," he continued, giving some insight as to why he has refused to partake in any of his media commitments since his fine and Costa's ban.

Yes, there was a plan behind it all.

His frustration is understandable—Chelsea are missing their best player, after all—but here we are again discussing issues that should have long since passed.

Mourinho's a man who doesn't mind a scrap, yet he's picking the wrong fights right now.

The talk at Cobham should have been of Chelsea potentially extending their lead over Manchester City at the top and the positives that have come on the back of signing Juan Cuadrado from Fiorentina.

He had his opportunity to push the conversation that way, but he declined it.

Julian Finney/Getty Images

Here's the point, however: Mourinho isn't going to have his fine dropped by airing his frustrations in a press room; Costa isn't going to suddenly be available to feature against Villa, either.

What is happening instead is that events are beginning to work against him.

It's getting out of control.

The message Mourinho has wanted to push about his players being treated unfairly, that there's an apparent lack of empathy from referees when it comes to his team, has been lost among the hyperbole.

Whatever the agenda is, the media are pushing their own now, and the Chelsea boss is feeding it.

The headlines will be of Mourinho's continued protest; the focus his ongoing feud with the FA and other areas of football's establishment.

Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

Where will that get Chelsea in the long term? Nowhere. And all we're seeing now is the microscope focussed ever more on Mourinho's players.

If they weren't already, TV producers are going to be looking for more reasons to belittle his claims of a "campaign." For every Chelsea indiscretion, a thousand headlines will be written.

A siege mentality is supposed to bring people together to fight the collective enemy, to battle through. It works at times, but right now the naysayers where Chelsea are concerned are only growing stronger and larger with every quote.

Mourinho's gone from the Special One to the pantomime villain.

And as is the case with those overblown seasonal productions, things are getting boring very quickly.

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes