Jose Mourinho has raised the prospect of Chelsea finishing the season without a trophy, describing it as “possible” given the intensity of the competition, as he continues to manage the levels of expectation.

But the manager said such a scenario would be considered as unacceptable by himself and everyone at the club.

Mourinho has always won something over the course of a full season as a manager – if the Spanish Super Cup that he claimed with Real Madrid last season is included, and, to him, it should be. His record has been phenomenal since 2002-03 – his first full season at Porto – but he has suggested his first campaign back at Chelsea may be among the toughest.

"I think it's possible," Mourinho replied, when asked about finishing empty-handed.

Six contenders
"We are competing against very important teams. You go to the Champions League and you see what is there and in the three domestic competitions, there are six contenders, or four in the Capital One Cup because others [Arsenal and Liverpool] are out.

“We are in a transitional period but given my personal approach, my personal philosophy of life, the nature of the club, it’s not acceptable to win nothing. We have to work hard to try for that not to happen.”

Mourinho is battling problems at both ends of the pitch, with his defence conceding sloppy goals and his strikers labouring for a cutting edge. He said Gary Cahill would not play against Crystal Palace today as the centre-half risked aggravating a thigh complaint, and so David Luiz will continue alongside the captain, John Terry.

Luiz returned to the team last Wednesday against Steaua Bucharest in the Champions League after five-and-a-half weeks out with a knee problem. “It was the performance of a player that’s been out for a long time,” Mourinho said. “Not perfect but good. As a start, he was fine.”

Ashley Cole will return to the bench, having started against Steaua, with Cesar Azpilicueta starting at left-back. Mourinho said Cole would come back in again for Tuesday night’s League Cup quarter-final at Sunderland and the manager intends to rotate in other areas over the busy Christmas and New Year period.

The Portuguese stressed that this Chelsea squad was in transition, with two groups of players: the younger ones who need time and the older guard who can no longer perform at the highest level for every minute of every game.

"The last manager, Benitez – and this is not a criticism – knew that he was not going to be the manager for the next year," Mourinho said. "He was chasing results and he was not worried about building up a team with a certain style. He knew that he would not be here and went for results, so we didn't have a real base to start with."
Guardian Service