Jose Mourinho Facing Reported Chelsea Mutiny, Slammed by Graeme Le Saux

Beleaguered Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is reportedly struggling to retain the backing of his dressing room, while former Blues player Graeme Le Saux has heavily criticised him for his treatment of club doctor Eva Carneiro.  

According to the Evening Standard's James Olley, "several players [are] increasingly unhappy" with Mourinho's handling of the defending Premier League champions' appalling start to the new season.

The Portuguese manager has reportedly "unsettled" a number of the first-team squad with his criticism of certain players, both in public and in private.

Olley reports a senior player at the club has a "derogatory one-word nickname" for Mourinho which is used by a number of other unhappy players in the squad.

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The Blues have picked up only eight points from eight Premier League games so far this season. The likes of John Terry, Nemanja Matic and Oscar have all been unceremoniously dropped from the starting XI as Mourinho attempts to turn his side's season around.

However, he is seemingly causing a rift between the players, as other consistent underperformers—like Branislav Ivanovic and Cesc Fabregas—have inexplicably retained their starting spots, per Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe:

Following Chelsea's most recent outing—in which they were defeated 3-1 at home by Southampton—the Blues came out with a statement backing Mourinho as manager.

However, the 52-year-old is undoubtedly struggling to keep a lid on the levels of dissatisfaction at the club. Not only have the results been poor but there have also been off-field troubles.

Per BBC Sport, Mourinho was recently handed a suspension and a fine for criticising match officials after the Saints clash.

He has also been embroiled in the controversy surrounding Carneiro's departure from the club which followed Mourinho's public criticism of her and club physio Jon Fearn.

Former Blues left-back Le Saux believes the controversy has had a negative impact on the west London club, Mourinho himself and the game of football as a whole. 

Now a member of the Football Association’s Inclusion Advisory Board, Le Saux has bemoaned Mourinho's handling of the situation, per the Times:

"

The whole furore may deter women from becoming involved in football, as well as discouraging clubs from employing them. A lot of people are working very hard to get the game in a better place, but after the last few weeks it feels as if we've gone back 30 years. 

As someone who was privileged to play for Chelsea for 12 years, I'm saddened that it has come to this. If what started out as a straightforward employer-employee issue had been handled differently, these negative issues would not have arisen. The biggest disappointment for me is that Mourinho doesn't seem to have reflected on the damage he has done to his own image, the reputation of the club and, more important, the reputation of the entire game.

"

Carneiro left her role at Chelsea following her demotion from the matchday bench after Mourinho's criticism.

The manager was accused of making discriminatory comments toward Carneiro, but he was cleared of any wrongdoing by the FA, per BBC Sport.

Carneiro was heavily critical of the way the FA dealt with the accusations toward Mourinho, per Sky Sports News HQ:

Mourinho's past record is impressive enough to suggest he should be able to turn Chelsea's current plight around and return them to some kind of form. 

But the pressure he is under currently is arguably greater than at any other time in his career, and there will seemingly be no let up until he can satisfy his unhappy squad, or he is fired.