Adrian Mutu Blasts 'Fake' Jose Mourinho over Chelsea Form, Handling of Players

Jose Mourinho has been dubbed as "fake" and "finished" by former Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu. The Romanian has poured scorn on the beleaguered Stamford Bridge boss by suggesting cheap manipulation of players like skipper John Terry is the core of his management style.

Mutu pulled no punches in an interview with the Mirror's Pete Hall, suggesting Mourinho is only concerned with himself:

"

He has been a great coach in the past, but as a person, he is fake.

He only looks after himself, and has no consideration for how his players are feeling and thinking. You could not go and talk to him.

"

Mutu made it clear he thinks Mourinho's disastrous start to Chelsea's Premier League title defence is the end for the outspoken Portuguese gaffer: “As a coach, he is finished. There is no way back for him. How do you come back from something like this [current form]?”

Tim Ireland/Associated Press

Charging Mourinho as the reason Chelsea's current squad looks unhappy and fractured on the pitch, Mutu revealed how the maverick manager relies on stirring the pot to manipulate his senior players:

"

The first thing he does is he goes to the biggest player in his team, and tries to make him angry.

No matter who it was, John Terry, Frank Lampard, it is just what he does for fun. That was just his way of doing things, and he won’t change for anyone.

"

Mutu's words will likely read as the voice of a bitter and shunned ex-player. After all, Hall detailed how the player and Mourinho fell out more than once during the latter's first stint in west London. The player's drug abuse and international commitments were the common sticking points.

Tim Hales/Associated Press

Yet, despite Mutu's obvious motivation to trash Mourinho, it would be a mistake to dismiss his words so easily. In fact, he's actually pinpointed the central conflict when it comes to judging Mourinho.

Generating tension and controversy has always been the hallmark of his managerial style. When it works, it succeeds in creating a siege mentality. Not only that, but Mourinho making himself the focus serves as an excellent deflection tactic for poor results and performances.

Yet, all his swerving in the public spotlight only works for a while. If poor results and performances are merely isolated incidents, Mourinho's controversial interviews and touchline antics are soon forgotten.

But when losing becomes the norm, the two-time UEFA Champions League winner becomes the story for all the wrong reasons. That's been the case this season when the Blues have lost eight league matches and sit 14th in the table. They were also bounced out of the Capital One Cup, the other trophy they claimed last season, in the fourth round.

Mourinho hasn't been shy about suggesting he doesn't deserve the blame for Chelsea's struggles this season, according to Mirror writer Darren Lewis: "You can look at the results and look to players with performances below acceptable. You can look to this and look to the unlucky decisions we're having in every competition, not just the Premier League."

He's never been reluctant to take the plaudits for Chelsea's biggest successes. But Mourinho sure sounds wary about accepting responsibility for the failures.

It's this kind of apparent double standard that promotes the type of views Mutu came up with. Unless results across all competitions significantly and imminently improve, that double standard will have more people agreeing with Mutu.