Speculation surrounding Jose Mourinho's job at Chelsea increased after the Blues experienced a shocking defeat at the hands of Southampton on Saturday.

Of course, rumours were already present, but Chelsea's disjointed defence and poor form overall on Saturday have left the team with eight points in as many games, causing many to wonder if this loss would prove one too many for club owner Roman Abramovich to accept.

Additionally, the resignation of Dick Advocaat and the sacking of Brendan Rodgers as Sunderland and Liverpool managers respectively has led many to believe that Portuguese tactician will be the next to go.

"Back me or sack me"

Saturday's game, in which Southampton came back from behind to score three goals and humiliate the home team, spurred Mourinho to go on a seven-minute rant touching on many subjects ranging from the team's confidence, the referees, and his own confidence that he is the best manager Chelsea has ever had.

First, Mourinho didn't hesitate to point fingers at referees for failing to award his side with what he felt should have been a penalty after Radamel Falcao and goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg collided in the penalty area.

"I think it's time to be a little bit honest and to say clearly the referees are afraid to give decisions for Chelsea," said the Portugese. "The result was 1-1 when it was a huge penalty, and, once more, we didn't get one. And the penalty was a crucial moment in the game with the result 1-1."

"And, I repeat, if the FA wants to punish me, they can punish me. They don't punish other managers, they punish me, but it's not a problem for me.

Mourinho has since been charged, just like he predicted, by the FA for suggesting preconceived bias on the part of referees. And this is not the first time that he has cast blame on referees for failing to make decisions in Chelsea's favour; the same happened last season, when Mourinho accused referees of having a "campaign" against Chelsea. However, The Special One didn't stop there.

"The team, mentally, psychologically, is unbelievably down," continued Mourinho. "It looks like good players are bad players.

"In the first-half, we didn't show our quality, but we were in control, we were more than in control, and one mistake, a lack of concentration, one goal and you have a tough time." Mourinho went on to say, "In normal circumstances, you come to the second-half and you do your game. I told the players 'no panic, we are not losing 4-0, it's 1-1, no panic.'"

"The team comes out with a good spirit, we have a penalty and the penalty is a giant penalty, and he [Robert Madley] was afraid to give, like everybody else is afraid to give, so no penalty."

The Chelsea boss believes that Madley's decision cost his team their mental strength, "After that, the team lost even more confidence and you know that their second goal is an individual mistake and their third goal was another individual mistake. And the team, mentally, they tried but they collapsed."

Mourinho's comments on his team's performance are not news to the spectators or the pundits; it has been obvious since they first started losing this season that Chelsea have lost confidence, gotten inside their own heads, and collapse at the first sign of pressure. 

When Chelsea were leading the game 1-0, they looked a decent side--not up to last season's standards, but cohesive enough to win. However, after Steven Davis scored Southampton's equalising goal, the Blues seemed to crumble, allowing two more goals in the second half. In the last ten minutes, Chelsea desperately scrambled to form some sort of attack and make their loss less embarrassing, but they were unable to manage another goal.

The solution to Chelsea's puzzling run of form remains a mystery to fans as well as Mourinho, who, is "losing his players," according to Jamie Redknapp. "Those players, if they're behind Jose Mourinho they're doing a bad job of showing it because there wasn't a tackle made," commented the Sky pundit. Chelsea captain John Terry gave a contradictory statement on the club's official website showing his support for the manager, which may have either been a sign that the other players will follow suit and back Mourinho, or that Mourinho has fallen so far at the club that the captain needs to publicly convince others to support him as well.

And as Mourinho and his men continue to struggle in the domestic league, the Portuguese could be losing the support of more than just the players, although he adamantly asserted that that would be wrong for the club.

Mourinho went on to say, "I can also know, what you are thinking and what you are saying in the studio about what is going to happen and what is not going to happen. I want to make it clear. One, I don't run away."

"Two, if the club wants to sack me, they have to sack me because I'm not running away from my responsibility and my team. To be champions will obviously be very, very difficult because the distance is considerable, but I am more than convinced that we will finish in the top four. And, when the season is so bad, if you finish top four, it is okay.

"Three, even more important than the first and the second, I think this is a crucial moment in the history of this club." He continued his explanation: "Do you know why? Because if the club sacks me, they sack the best manager that this club has, and secondly, the message is again: bad results and the manager is guilty.

This was accompanied by a speech in the post-match press conference in which he said, "No way I resign. No way. There are managers in the world at my level, but not better.... I want the best for my club and the best for my club is for me to stay, so I stay until the club and the owner want me to go." His passionate comments have led Alan Shearer to suggest that Mourinho wants Abramovich to publicly dispel speculation of the manager's departure and "make a statement backing him."

Vote of confidence

In a surprising turn of events, the club issued a statement backing Mourinho on Monday for the first time during Abramovich's reign at Chelsea.

The statement on the club's official website reads:

"The club wants to make it clear that Jose continues to have our full support.

"As Jose has said himself, results have not been good enough and the team's performances must improve. However, we believe that we have the right manager to turn this season around and that he has the squad with which to do it."

Some see the statement as a bad sign for Mourinho's future at the club, believing that the fact that the need for such a statement indicates the dismal state of things. Normally, managers are sacked shortly after being backed by the board. 

However, Chelsea have never released a statement backing a manager while Abramovich, who is infamous for sacking managers even under better conditions, has been owner. Thus, the fact that the club are doing so now is hugely significant for Mourinho. 

Mourinho was also given a stay of execution during a crisis meeting with Abramovich following Saturday's defeat. In the meeting the board unanimously decided to back him, although it is unsure how long the manager will have to turn this season around before they change their minds.