Jose Mourinho Reportedly Creates 'Volatile' Chelsea Mood After Provoking Stars

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has reportedly taken a number of his players to task in the opening weeks of the season for their poor performances.

The defending Premier League champions currently lie 14th in the English top flight following three defeats in seven games—the same amount of losses they endured in the entirety of last season—and Mourinho is not happy.

The Portuguese manager has reportedly carried out a number of "savage dressing-room inquests," which have produced a "volatile" atmosphere as Mourinho tries to provoke his players into some kind of form, per Neil Ashton of the Daily Mail.

According to Ashton, John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic, Oscar, Cesar Azpilicueta and Nemanja Matic have all been criticised in front of their team-mates as the manager looks for a return to winning ways.

Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images

Skipper Terry has been forced to sit on the bench with Kurt Zouma taking his place alongside Gary Cahill in the Blues' centre-back pairing in the last two matches.

Having played every minute of Chelsea's league-winning campaign last season, Terry is currently—and surprisingly—struggling to even make the first team, per WhoScored.com.

One of the most remarkable aspects of Chelsea's recent slump is their lack of solidity in defence.

Mourinho teams are invariably solid at the back, and the Blues were effectively unbreachable last season, but they have already shipped 14 Premier League goals in 2015-16.

They lost to Porto in the Champions League on Tuesday and had to fight back for a 2-2 draw against struggling Newcastle United last time out in the league.

Saturday sees them face Southampton, and Bleacher Report's Andy Brassell is predicting another reverse for the Stamford Bridge outfit:

Per Ashton, Mourinho is no longer the relaxed figure he was last season in the Chelsea dressing room as he promotes a culture of criticism to attempt to shock his team out of their torpor.

This early in the season, there is still time to salvage the situation, but Mourinho must hope he is employing the correct strategy.