Once he had dismissed defeat as an unfortunate ‘anomaly’ and, childishly, the fault of the ball boys, Jose Mourinho sought necessary to declare what his team had failed to prove on the pitch – ‘We are better than anybody else’.

The Premier League table, of course, supports his assertion. But, for the second successive weekend in the North-East, the Chelsea boss was on the defensive.

Five points have been surrendered at Sunderland and now Newcastle, the gap to Manchester City shrunk from eight to three.

VIDEO Scroll down to see Mourinho blame the Newcastle ball boys

Jose Mourinho was unhappy with the ball boys during the latter stages of Chelsea's match at Newcastle

Chelsea were condemned to their first defeat of the season after two goals from Papiss Cisse

Mourinho, however, felt the need to serve a reminder amid the hyperbole of their first defeat of the season.

‘We are top of the league,’ he said. ‘Nobody has done better than us. Everyone would like to be in our position. So we are more than fine. We are better than anybody else.’

But they were not better than Newcastle, proof that resistance resides within a league which many expected them to waltz through undefeated.

In the course of seven days, Gus Poyet - who stifled the league leaders in a goalless draw - and Alan Pardew have co-authored the manual on how to contain and expose the title favourites - it should be on the wish-list of every top-flight manager this Christmas.

John Terry can only watch on as Cisse's strike hits the back of the Chelsea net at St James' Park

Cisse tucks away his second goal against Chelsea on Saturday - a huge three points for Newcastle United

Mourinho, though, will not be penning the foreword in support of the uprising.

‘We were unlucky. It is as simple as that. The best team lost. The team that tried to win, lost,’ he sounded.

SUPER STAT Jose Mourinho has never won in the Premier League at St James’ Park, losing three times and drawing once Advertisement

’For people like me who have been in football for so long you have to accept this anomaly.

‘Newcastle did what they always do. They defended. They fought hard. They tried to counter attack when it was possible. This is the way they play against us.’

Mourinho’s gripe was not merely confined to the grown men on the pitch, but also the young boys around its perimeter.

Bizarrely, he criticised the speed at which they returned the ball – at one point, two appeared - as the visitors chased parity during what was a generous helping of six minutes added time, insisting that he himself would never encourage such tactics.

Mourinho looked frustrated on the bench at St James' Park, but insisted his side are still the best

Rookie goalkeeper Jak Alnwick (left) celebrates with his Newcastle team-mates after they beat Chelsea

The excuse lacked substance and, indeed, class.

‘Things were happening that the referee cannot control,’ he said. ‘He cannot punish the ball boy that disappears.

‘You may as well put a cow in the middle of the pitch, walking. And then stop the game because there was a cow. You cannot do just anything in football. You have to defend. You have to defend with your 10 men, put the 10 in front of the goal line, bring the bus, but football needs a ball, not two or zero. Do what you can to win, but not everything.’

If the attack was designed to deflect attention from his players, it worked. But amid all of the bull about cows and ball boys, it should not be forgotten that Chelsea’s offensive threat has gone cold in the chill of Wearside and Tyneside.

On Saturday they could not break down a team which included second-choice goalkeeper Rob Elliot and then his rookie understudy Jak Alnwick, and was also reduced to 10 men following Steven Taylor’s dismissal.

Mourinho also praised the Newcastle supporters at St James' Park, labelling them a 'good, good crowd'

The scorer of Newcastle’s goals, Papiss Cisse, has been troubled by injury problems of late but was still too sharp for John Terry and Gary Cahill in poaching his match-winning brace.

Diego Costa, meanwhile, has scored just one in four since returning from a hamstring layoff and the Brazilian-born striker was shackled by Argentine Fabricio Coloccini at St James’ Park. The recent absence was designed to rid him of his lingering fitness issues but has instead stalled the momentum which saw him smash 10 goals in his first 12 games.

Mourinho concedes his £32million marksman is not firing right now.

‘He has to improve his condition,’ he said. ‘He was injured, he had many doubts and he had a long time without training and that obviously must have an effect on a player – the way he runs, the way he moves, his coordination. He has to recover but I don't think there is any problem. For me, the problem is not the goals. The goals will come as a consequence of his condition.’

Mourinho looked disappointed during his interview with BT Sport after the game, bemoaning the ball boys

VIDEO Mourinho accepts 'unlucky' defeat

Last week, at Sunderland, Chelsea also failed to take all three points after a 0-0 draw at the Stadium of Light

Mourinho, it appears, will wait for Costa to come good, evidenced by his decision to restore him to the starting XI ahead of midweek scorers Loic Remy and Didier Drogba, who headed hope of a comeback following his second-half introduction.

It was, though, in vain and Chelsea - who entertain Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday having already qualified for the Champions League knockout rounds - must now bid for a return to winning ways in the league at home to struggling Hull next weekend. Mourinho was critical of the atmosphere inside Stamford Bridge last month, likening it to an ‘empty stadium’.

But that was one concession he was prepared to make about the passion and noise at St James’.

‘They are a good, good crowd,’ he said. ‘They are very enthusiastic. That is big. That is their way of living the game.’