Jose Mourinho has received public backing from the Chelsea board with regards to his stay with the club as rumours of a possible sacking continues to surround the Portuguese.

Chelsea lost for the fourth time in eight games this season in the Premier League on Saturday, with the latest being a 1-3 loss at home to Southampton, who came back strong after going a goal down early in the 10th minute.

The club had also lost earlier in the week to Porto in the Champions League, and the poor run of form for the defending champions has meant that Mourinho is fighting to save his job at Stamford Bridge.

The former Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Porto manager remained defiant on Saturday in his post-match press conference, claiming he would not walk away from the club and almost daring owner Roman Abramovich and the Chelsea board to sack him as he declared himself to be the best manager ever for the club.

“This is the crucial moment in the history of this club. Do you know why? Because if the club sacks me, they sack the best manager this club ever had. And the message again is that if there are bad results, the manager is guilty” Mourinho told reporters at a press conference.

Chelsea’s poor start means they have only managed to pick up eight points from the opening eight games of the season, officially the worst ever by a defending champion in the Premier League era. They currently lie 16th in the league table, 10 points behind leaders Manchester City.

“The club wants to make it clear that Jose continues to have our full support. As Jose has said himself, results have not been good enough and the team's performances must improve. However, we believe that we have the right manager to turn this season around and that he has the squad with which to do it,” Chelsea announced in a statement on their website. It is the first time ever Chelsea have publicly backed a manager ever since Roman Abramovich took over.

Another top club manager in Liverpool’s Brendan Rodgers was sacked on Sunday after the club’s draw with Everton in the Merseyside derby. Sunderland are also expected to soon part ways with Dick Advocaat as Premier League clubs head into the international break.

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