Jose Mourinho reckons Chelsea have got champion qualities.

Jose Mourinho is rabbiting through reasons why he adores his job when he mentions defeat.

‘I like the reaction after defeat,’ says the Chelsea manager, although he might not feel the same if he were in charge of Leicester or Hull.

Mourinho has endured defeat only once in eight months, and since losing at Newcastle his team have produced four straight wins, 10 goals and top the Barclays Premier League by three points.

Moreover, there is a confident glint in his eye as his new-build team passes its character examinations like Monday’s win at Stoke.

He sounds relaxed. ‘I feel we can do it,’ said Mourinho, in an interview with Clare Balding to be screened on BT Sport on Christmas Day. ‘We are ready to do it. We have prepared ourselves. We really believe that we are going to do it.

‘At the same time, feet on the ground. You have to understand the country where we play. The level of competition makes things more difficult than everywhere else.

‘At the same time it’s more beautiful because every point is a point, every game is a game and every weekend is a weekend and emotions from the beginning till the end. We are title contenders. We are one of the best teams. We are the team that plays better football and obviously big opponents, but we are title contenders.’

It is a distinct change of tone from last season when he convinced few people in claiming Chelsea were the ‘little horse’ in a title race with Manchester City and Liverpool. ‘Maybe next year we can win it,’ he said at the time.

Maybe they will. They are in front and his players believe they can do it. Mourinho is not as cocksure as he was on the way to winning his first Premier League title in 2004-05, when he correctly predicted his team would clinch it at Bolton.