http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=D&xml=/sport/2006/ Mourinho must stay calm for brewing storm By Alan Smith (Filed: 03/04/2006) Another away game, another disappointment. Cause for concern in London SW6? Well, it will be getting that way if Chelsea don't rouse themselves quickly to see off the first real blip of their Premiership campaign; a blip, incidentally, that isn't so much to do with results (they have still lost only three games in the league) as the manner of performance in recent weeks. On Saturday, for instance, the champions were made to look fairly pedestrian by a previously bruised and battered Birmingham side who had forgotten how to defend properly over the last few games. But what do you know, the league leaders turn up and morale is miraculously restored. At a blustery St Andrew's, the visitors rarely found their rhythm and rarely played much football in a disjointed display that summed up their present mood. Chelsea's away form in general has been less than convincing, with only two goals to show from their last four tests on the road. And both of those strikes came at West Bromwich Albion in a clash best remembered for Didier Drogba's shameful play-acting, Arjen Robben's reckless tackle and Jose Mourinho's ability to wind up his opposite number, the apoplectic Bryan Robson, by sending out his side a good three minutes late for the second half. Whether that was all down to gamesmanship, we can only surmise. What is certain, though, is that Mourinho, having witnessed an extremely lacklustre 45 minutes during which his charges failed to carve out a decent chance, proceeded to launch into his players at half-time with such sustained ferocity that the referee's bell signalling the end of the interval was almost drowned out by the noise. Manchester United fans will be interested to hear that during this tirade their club's name was mentioned more than once. Mourinho was pretty sure that three points at the Hawthorns would go a long way to seeing off United's challenge. That's what made him so incensed. If they could only rally themselves, his side could put the championship race to bed. So he thought anyway. Although Chelsea did go on to win that spiteful contest, it has not been enough to shake off their rivals. To prove the point, the gap at the top of the Premiership has now been whittled down to a meagre seven points from an unassailable-looking 18 in the middle of March. That's some difference. As the bell for the final lap gets ready to ring, Chelsea can feel United's hot breath a few yards behind. "Squeaky bum time," Sir Alex Ferguson once famously called it. If his lot can overcome Arsenal at Old Trafford on Sunday (not a foregone conclusion by any means), the wily Scot knows that the Premiership run-in could get very interesting indeed. In response, Mourinho will now have to show another facet to his character by supplementing those wide-ranging coaching skills of his, traits that have brought him so much success, with a touch of sang-froid. Instead of the raging anger that seems to have overcome him in recent weeks, the Portuguese must, above all, calm himself down in the next few days before getting both his squad and his staff to re-focus determinedly on the job in hand. After all, their mission is straightforward. If Chelsea win their remaining three games at home, including the crucial one against United on the 29th of this month, the Premiership trophy will remain in the Stamford Bridge boardroom. If that happens, the accusations and recriminations, the stories of unrest behind the scenes, of dressing-room disquiet at the gaffer's increasing volatility, will all be quickly forgotten when the open-top bus starts snaking down the Fulham Road. I have experienced it myself. During some stages of Arsenal's title-winning campaigns, morale dropped through the floor as below-par displays led to one 'crisis' meeting after another. You felt anything but a champion as the accusing finger was pointed. Looking back afterwards, though, with a medal hanging round your neck, those moments seemed so insignificant alongside the big prize. One newspaper's back page on Saturday led with a pointed question. "Where did it all go wrong, Jose?" The answer, in reality, is that it hasn't. Not yet anyway. Yes, there have been low points, moments to forget, but Chelsea so far have proved themselves to be the most consistent side in the Premiership. Steady nerves now will bring their reward. ~~~~ 我们到底有没有在练球?! ~~~~ --

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