Jose Mourinho said he believes Chelsea are in the middle of a “perfect season” and that even a first defeat of the campaign would not alter the burgeoning self-belief of the Premier League leaders.
They face Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday seeking to consolidate their six-point advantage at the top of the table, having failed to score for the first time this season at Sunderland on Saturday.
Despite opening the season with a 20-match unbeaten run, Mourinho says his side should be in buoyant mood even when the defeat he believes is inevitable happens.
“What do you want the team to do or to feel when a team is doing a perfect season?” Mourinho said.
“Top of the league in the Premier League. Top of the group in the [Uefa] Champions League. Quarter-finals of the Capital One Cup. Not losing one match for four months.
“The team has to feel very, very well and, when the defeat arrives, I think we have to feel exactly in the same way.
“We are doing things very well and it’s not a bad result, when the bad result arrives, that is going to change our self-belief, our self-esteem.”
Captain John Terry has enjoyed another impressive campaign for Mourinho in central defence as Chelsea have conceded just 15 goals in all competition.
Terry is under contract until the end of the season, but Mourinho would not entertain discussion over his future yesterday.
“It’s not time to speak about it,” Mourinho said.
“But he knows what I think, he knows what I feel, the board also knows, and we don’t feel the need to share with you [the media].”
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