Former Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann believes Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho is ‘begging for the sack’, as revealed in a talkSPORT exclusive.
In August, 32 out of 40 BBC Sport pundits predicted the Blues would become the first team to successfully defend the Premier League title since Manchester United in 2009, whilst only one envisaged them finishing outside of the top two.
But in what has been nothing short of a catastrophic start to the season, Chelsea have already lost four times in the Premier League – one more than their total from last season – and fallen ten points behind pace setters Manchester City.
Former Citizens midfielder Dietmar Hamann, who is better famed for his seven seasons spent on Merseyside with Liverpool, believes Stamford Bridge boss Jose Mourinho is ‘begging for the sack’ by the way he’s treated his star players this season.
Captain John Terry, midfielder Nemanja Matic and PFA Player of the Year winner Eden Hazard have all been dropped this season and Hamann believes that approach is putting the Portuguese’s employment at risk.
He said to talkSPORT yesterday morning; “I don’t know what’s going on with the owner and what the circumstances are, but to me at times it looks like he’s begging for the sack.
“The thing that worries me about Chelsea is that he seems to be falling out with all the players. If you want to get a reaction from a player and you put him on the bench like he did with [Eden] Hazard the other day, it’s not a problem. But you don’t bring him on in the 89th minute to humiliate him and embarrass him even further.
“If I look into the Chelsea dressing room now, do I think the majority of players would like to see the back of him? Yes, I think they would. He’s upset everybody for no reason. Things have not been going well but it’s still early in the season. They’ve made a good start in the Champions League, and in the Premier League there is a long way to go.
“Once you have that mood in the dressing room, and I can imagine what the likes of Hazard, Ivanovic, even Terry think about him, once you lose that respect and that trust for the manager, it’s curtains. It’s over. End of.
“If he wants to keep his job until the end of the season you’ve got to see a different Chelsea over the next few months. Can I see it? I’m not too sure, I don’t think they can. I’ll be stunned if he’s there by the end of the season.”