Jose Mourinho is a master manipulator

With a manager as combustible and as clever as Jose Mourinho, you always know that he is going to blow at some stage of the season.

By highlighting Anthony Taylor’s performance at Southampton, where the referee gave Cesc Fabregas a yellow card for diving, Mourinho created some hysteria. 

That was a carefully orchestrated move by Mourinho, delivering the same message in each of his post-match press conferences with equal conviction.

At face value it looked like he was trying to attack pundits, experts and analysts. By turning his fire on them, and away from the referee, he avoided an FA charge.

But his real target was referees. The title race could be decided by a referee’s decision and Mourinho wants to influence them.

At White Hart Lane on New Year's Day, Phil Dowd is on notice and will be well aware that Chelsea have not been awarded a penalty away from Stamford Bridge this season. That is an incredible statistic.

Dowd’s last Chelsea match was their 1-1 draw at Old Trafford. He sent off Branislav Ivanovic in the 90th minute and Robin van Persie equalised 45 seconds later. If there are any tricky decisions to be made tonight, Dowd might have Jose’s comments ringing in his ears.

Mourinho is a brilliant team builder. He quickly identifies areas he needs to improve and creates a cause like no other manager in the Premier League. It can work as a real positive energy.

He is a trophy hunter and there is a lot of silverware to be won before he is done with English football. But his team, for all their quality, are stuttering on their travels after losing at Newcastle and drawing at Sunderland and Southampton.

It is easy to criticise a referee, to distract people from a performance, but I believe his recent comments were deliberate because he showed restraint. He did just enough to create headlines and debate — and to get inside the heads of referees.

Mourinho is a master manipulator, using situations to his advantage, and he knows the pressure is on Chelsea in the second half of the season. Manchester City are lurking in striking distance. 

At some stage his dressing room will feel tension because they are leading from the front and are expected to win their first Premier League title since he returned to Chelsea.