Fallen champions Chelsea suffered a ninth defeat in 16 Premier League games at Leicester with the pressure growing on Jose Mourinho's position as coach. After suggesting he was "betrayed" by his players, where does such an evening leave the 'Special One' as his side's season continues to unravel at a startling pace.

Another match, another defeat for Chelsea

Indeed. A 2-1 defeat at Premier League leaders Leicester does not sound bad in isolation, but as part of a body of work it doesn't look great for coach or players, but of course you cannnot dismiss an entire squad. Goals from Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez did for Chelsea with Loic Remy's late effort merely a consolation. The longer this goes on, the more in jeopardy Jose's position would appear to be. Or maybe not. It depends on what owner Roman Abramovich is making of all these happenings, and he does doesn't do interviews with anybody. So it is difficult to get a reading of what is going through his mind. The facts of the matter do not lie: Chelsea are only one point above the relegation spots in a lowly 16th spot after 16 games of a turbulent season.

What did he have to say this time?

As per usual, plenty. It has reached the farcical juncture at Chelsea where Mourinho has taken to berating Premier League ball boys after his side's ongoing shortcomings, but not before he had made his feelings known about his players. "We were better for a maximum of 30 minutes, they were better for an hour. They didn’t make many mistakes, they were aggressive and played at a high intensity and high tempo.It’s unacceptable for me because I know that one of my strengths is to read the game for my players, read the opponents and I feel like my work was betrayed."

Was he right to say he was betrayed?

You could argue that he was correct in this assertion, but one can't look at such swingeing criticism in isolation. You have to look at what the manager has contributed to such a shambolic demise, and how a squad who won the Premier League by eight points in May can suddenly be in the nether regions in mid-December. Ranging from Chelsea's gone-but-not forgotten doctor Eva Carneiro, the club's medical staff, referees, the Football Association, the media and not forgetting Arsene Wenger, Mourinho has criticised everything that moves, but football management always comes down to how you are treating your players and what you are getting out of them. On such a respect, Mourinho has to take as much responsibility. When Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher said there is "massive disconnect" between players and coach, he wasn't indulging in fantasy.

Any players in particular?

Eden Hazard, who doesn't sound or look like an object of his affection. Mourinho's reaction to his injury early in the match tended to suggest if his manager wondered if he had an injury. "I don’t know. He was on the floor he came out, he says he can’t do it," commented Jose.

"A couple of seconds later he says he goes inside to try and when he goes inside two steps he immediately decides to go back. I think Eden is injured. I didn’t speak yet with the doctor, but I have to believe he is injured."

Was he right to attack the ball boys?

This one really is clutching at straws. When you start quizzing the amount of time and effort ball boys are taking to get the ball into play, you begin to lose credibility. "They were a disgrace to the Premier League." Maybe frustrating, but they are hoping for a Leicester win. It is wholly wrong to suggest ball boys contributed to Chelsea's defeat.

Do club icons share the same view?

Diego Costa has accused his team-mates of sleeping on the job during the match with an image during the match that was fairly damning, but Frank Lampard, working as a Sky pundit, claims the club's owner will resist pulling the trigger.

"It has to change right now. Whether it's attitude or performance or something else, it has to change. He (Abramovich) probably looking at it very closely. Obviously we've been here before with Chelsea when managers change midway through the season. I don't know how many times you can do that. We had some good results from doing it before but we had a different set of players at that point. What can they gain by getting rid of him now? They are probably not going to make the top four anyway or the top six. They're not going to get relegated I think if we are honest so I'm sure there's a view from Roman Abramovich to say, 'Hang on, let's see what happens at the end of the season."

Will he fall on his sword?

Doesn't sound like it. If Mourinho goes, apparently with several million pounds in compensation, the action will be instigated by the owner. "I think you know me well enough, three years this time plus three years in another time so six years with you, you know me well enough that I am not afraid of a big challenge," said Mourinho. "In this moment it is a real big challenge. I want to stay. I hope Mr Abramovich and the board want me to stay."

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