Jose Mourinho Plays Down Claims of Chelsea Revolt Ahead of Aston Villa Match

As the cracks in Chelsea's title defence widen, coach Jose Mourinho has played down talks of a player revolt at Stamford Bridge ahead of their Premier League clash against Aston Villa. 

The Special One has come under increasing pressure as accusations of unrest swirl at the Blues, with the manager telling talkSPORT the rumours are "sad" and "untrue." The 52-year-old said to the radio station: 

"

It’s sad but I don’t care really, I don’t care. I spoke with the players about it and the players are also sad about it, but there is no way to care.

We know what we are, we know the relationships between ourselves. We know that we are together trying to go back to normality but it is quite sad because people could analyse the situation in pure football terms.

Let’s try to find the reason why this team is playing badly and why it is not winning matches, without agendas and without unfair comment, because that’s not nice.

"

Steven Governo/Associated Press

As Chelsea hover above the Premier League relegation zone, the comments come with the news the FA have slapped the coach with a £50,000 fine and suspended one-match stadium ban after his outburst against English league officials after his team's collapse against Southampton. 

The Portuguese boss once again responded with a spiky attitude to his fine, per Sky Sports:

MIGUEL RIOPA/Getty Images

Mourinho appears hell-bent on tempting the wrath of the governing body with his latest reaction, and it seems he has lost a grip on his tenure at Chelsea. His actions are questionable when the team needs leadership, in order to halt problems escalating at a frightening pace. 

The loss of four Premier League matches and conceding of 17 goals—consigning Chelsea to 16th—is the worst start to a season by a set of champions in history, according to talkSPORT. It leaves Mourinho on the brink of a shock Stamford Bridge exit. 

Jeremy Wilson of the Daily Telegraph questioned Mourinho's most recent outburst:

The Blues are a world away from the happy times of last season, as Mourinho's history with Chelsea was capped off by capturing the English league crown once more. However, his team's credibility and performance levels have collapsed, leaving his ambitions shipwrecked in the capital. 

It will be the next few weeks that will make or break Mourinho's tenure at Stamford Bridge, with owner Roman Abramovich surely not content with a simple top-four finish to quell his ambitions. 

Chelsea need a win against Aston Villa at all costs, with a shock defeat possibly triggering a knee-jerk reaction from the Russian billionaire as he ruthlessly restructures his team once again.