International

The wine was flowing at the annual Chelsea Pitch Owners’ lunch when a video showing Steven Gerrard’s fatal slip at Anfield was beamed on to the giant screens.

As the glasses clinked to a re-run of Demba Ba scoring the goal that virtually ended Liverpool’s dreams of winning the Barclays Premier League last May, the footage cut to some shots of Jose Mourinho.

‘Next season,’ he vowed, with Chelsea supporters roaring their approval to a previously unseen clip, which had been recorded shortly after Manchester City won the title.

At Stamford Bridge on Sunday, after Eden Hazard headed the winner against Crystal Palace, Mourinho fulfilled his promise.

Each morning, Chelsea’s manager leaves the family’s £6m townhouse in the heart of London’s upscale district of Belgravia to head for the club’s training ground in Surrey. At just after 7am it is an easy commute against the traffic, with Mourinho sitting in the back of a chauffeur-driven car on the familiar 21-mile journey into the countryside before his sponsored Jaguar swings left off the A3 and into the village of Cobham.

While many managers’ offices are bestrewn with copies of newspapers, FourFourTwo or Esquire, Mourinho’s first-floor rooms are a picture of order, with his training schedules meticulously filed.

His dedication and work ethic is remarkable, even to the point where he made sure that his morning session at St George’s Park, which is home to the national team, last Tuesday, was shut off with huge blackout screens.

Training began at 10.30 sharp, just as it always does, with a blast of Mourinho’s whistle. There are no stragglers on the Special One’s watch.

He demanded extra security around the complex to make sure his team shape for the clash with Leicester City, who had won their previous four Premier League games, would not be leaked to Nigel Pearson.

Last Wednesday’s 3-1 victory at the King Power Stadium, with goals from Didier Drogba, John Terry and Ramires, set up this title-clincher against Palace.