Jose Mourinho insisted that he will not be fired by Chelsea, and will be given all the time he needs to turn things around at Stamford Bridge.

The club's worst start to a season in a generation has seen them look more like relegation candidates than potential champions, and rumours have been flying that Mourinho is to be fired imminently.

But the Chelsea boss insisted that he has the full support of Roman Abramovich.

When asked how long he believes he would be given to turn things round, he stonewalled.

"Four years. No, three years seven months, something like that," he said, referring to the new four-year contract he signed after winning the league in May.

Mourinho was also asked about reports that he has lost the dressing room, following the BBC's claim that a senior player said this weekend that he would "rather lose than win for Mourinho."

"I think it's a very sad accusation because you are using a player, or more than one player, accusing them of dishonesty," he said, denying that there are any problems between him and his players.

"If I accuse you of being a dishonest journalist I think you would be very upset and probably you'd take legal action. So I think it's a question for the players."

At that point, Chelsea press officer Steve Atkins stepped in to attack the BBC's reporting of the story.

"The prominence which they gave a story which by their own admission came second or third hand is very disappointing," Atkins said.

"From a news organisation which prides itself on its integrity, we strongly feel that they fell well short of their standards."

Mourinho also made a telling point about how a run of poor results was always likely, even harking back to a press conference he gave having won the Champions League with Porto over a decade ago.

"In May 2004 I said that one day in my career bad results would come. So 11 years later… I resisted well, given the nature of my job and the nature of football," he said.

"It took time, but it's come at a moment when I'm stable and strong enough to face it."

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