Is it ever a wise move for the club to publicly express confidence in the manager?

If nothing’s amiss, nothing need be said, and yet two days after Chelsea’s defeat at home to Southampton came the dreaded expression from the board – Jose Mourinho has their “full support”.

In the past, such declarations of undying love are often the last spoken words before news of the divorce emerges.

Taken to its logical conclusion, every board in the land would have to issue hourly bulletins, assuring everyone that everything is tickety-boo.

Now I’m from the school of thought that thinks the Blues would be greatly diminished as a fighting force if Jose were to be shown the door (accompanied by another wheel-barrowful of readies).

The man should stay and weave his undoubted magic on a situation which is threatening to get out of hand.

One of the first things he has to do is get a grip on himself and resist any temptation to get side-tracked.

He has to focus all his energies on forthcoming matches, particularly Saturday’s visit of Aston Villa, and pick his fights with more care.

The saga about club doctor Eva Carneiro and her shameful demotion for simply doing her job is a stain on Jose’s career.

When an apology was called for to atone for a heat-of-the-moment misjudgement, the manager turned all Alpha Male and refused to back down.

Jose’s repeated post-match bleatings that Chelsea “deserve more” from games do not help either.

Teams deserve nothing; it all has to be earnt.

Even during the international break, the cracks were showing. Nemanja Matic was red-carded for Serbia on Sunday night for swinging an elbow at a Portuguese opponent.

Whoever lines up in a blue shirt against Villa shares the responsibility of getting Chelsea back on track after a string of games in which few deserved the hefty pay packets they received.