Jose had to rein in have-a-go heroes

CHELSEA are on the verge of a fourth Barclays Premier League title and they have put in the perfect performance. If the season is a 90-minute game, then they were brilliant in the first 45 minutes before sewing it up in the second half.

They are one of the best teams we have seen in the Premier League but there was one moment during ‘ half-time’ where everything changed. The defeat by Bradford in the FA Cup completely transformed their season.

After disappointment in 2013-14, Jose Mourinho was suspicious of this group. He made changes through the spine of the team in the summer and initially gave them licence to play. It worked.

Chelsea were so good we all thought they would win the league by Christmas. Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic were dominating midfield, while Oscar, Willian, Eden Hazard and Diego Costa were running wild.

They looked a completely different team — and it was hard to believe it was one built by Jose Mourinho. It was Total Football.

In this column I suggested they could go the season unbeaten and match Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles’. The balance of the squad was good and Jose looked as if he was enjoying himself.

But then came a few stumbles and Mourinho changed the mindset. He nurtured them through it telling them: ‘I know how to win, you don’t.’

At the start of December, Chelsea lost at Newcastle and Mourinho had a little moan about ball boys hiding the ball. It was a sign of things to come.

Six games later Fabregas was harshly booked for diving at Southampton and Mourinho stated there was a ‘campaign’ against Chelsea.

Of course, there was no such thing but nothing bonds a group like feeling the world is against you. Mourinho’s paranoia helped create a false atmosphere at the club where they believed there was a conspiracy against them.

The season had been all about the quality of his team but when the mind games started it was clear who was taking over. If the Newcastle loss was bad then a 5-3 defeat at Tottenham was worse.

This was not defeat by a European superpower. Tottenham are an emerging team but Chelsea were embarrassed.

They were far too open and John Terry and Gary Cahill, who hadn’t had much defending to do all season, were exposed.

FA Cup defeat by Bradford was the final straw, as before the game Jose said it would be a disgrace to lose to them. That’s when he decided it was now his way or the highway.

Mourinho creates an unrivalled intensity in his teams and the players became foot soldiers carrying out their general’s instructions. Gone was the free-flowing football, in came defensive stability and dogged determination.

And the stats (above right) prove it. Until the Bradford defeat on January 24, Chelsea led the field in goals, shots and shot conversion. After Bradford, those numbers dropped.

Chelsea were happy to sit back and let teams have possession. Now it was all about sticking to Jose’s defensive philosophy. You could see it in his team selections, too.

In the 22 matches before Bradford, Fabregas and Matic started 20 games in central midfield. The only reason they didn’t play all 22 was due to suspension.

In the 12 games after the Bradford defeat, the same pair started just three times in central midfield. Injuries and suspensions played a part but Fabregas has been moved around as Mourinho has made things more secure, with Oscar the man often sacrificed.

We have known from the off Chelsea were the best team in the league and they have played each half of the season differently.

The two halves of the Leicester game underlined their ability to change. They arrived intending to be conservative but when they went behind they had to open up and go for it.

But that is the sign of a great team — they can play in whichever way they’re asked. They are being trained as winners by Jose and as they develop and grow they will start to think for themselves. The challenge now is to repeat the feat next season.