Mourinho called them into a meeting to re-assert his authority

The Blues have lost five games in the opening 58 days of the season

Some players believe the Chelsea manager's criticism is belittling

There have been times this season when Jose Mourinho has really let fly at his under-performing Chelsea players, taking them to task during savage dressing-room inquests.

What has surprised this squad of elite-level players is the manner of the delivery, selecting certain individuals and criticising them in front of their colleagues.

Many would argue that a team who lifted the Barclays Premier League trophy as recently as May deserve it after recording five defeats in the opening 58 days of the season.

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Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho gestures from the touchline during his side's defeat by Porto on Tuesday

Chelsea striker Diego Costa looks dejected following the Blues' defeat by Porto in the Champions League

Chelsea players are surprised Mourinho has decided to criticise individuals in front of their colleagues

Chelsea lifted the Premier League title in May but have already lost five games in all competitions this season

Others are convinced it is belittling. Captain John Terry, who has spent the last two games on the bench, Branislav Ivanovic, Oscar, Cesar Azpilicueta and Nemanja Matic are among the players who have been bawled out by Chelsea’s manager since the start of the season.

During this troubling period for the champions, Mourinho told Matic, who was axed for the 2-1 Champions League defeat at Porto on Tuesday, that he needed too many touches to control the ball.

There is no escape from Mourinho at the moment, with the manager demanding a return to the relentless, winning football that landed the club their fourth Premier League title, along with another League Cup last season.

Chelsea players, who have struggled this season, feel Mourinho's approach to single out is belittling

Oscar is one player having issues with Mourinho (pictured), while Cesar Azpilicueta is also under fire

Azpilicueta, one of the most reliable members of the team for the past three seasons, has been told he is lucky the club do not possess an orthodox, top-quality left back to replace him.

Oscar has his own issues with Mourinho, manifested when he pointedly failed to celebrate his fabulous goal against Swansea on the opening day of the season.

Terry, who has been on the bench for the last two games, has also been criticised, presumably for his failure to compensate for his lack of pace with his usual immaculate reading of a game.

Even with his experience, Terry is keeping his head down and vowing to win back his place at the heart of the defence.

Chelsea captain John Terry has also been criticised and is keeping his head down to win back his place

Cesc Fabregas and Costa are two players to have escaped Mourinho's (pictured) wrath this season

Ivanovic, who continues to captain the team in Terry’s absence and has kept his place in the team at right back, has also got it in the neck on various occasions.

Others have escaped Mourinho’s wrath, notably Cesc Fabregas. Diego Costa, who fell out with Mourinho at the end of last season when he took an extra day off, without permission, to celebrate the club’s title triumph, is being treated sympathetically.

The forward, who will miss Saturday’s clash with Southampton because he is completing a three-game ban, is the only player left in the squad who can consistently score goals. Mourinho needs him onside.

The dressing room has become volatile, with Chelsea’s manager attempting to provoke his players after their lacklustre, pedestrian start to the season.

On Wednesday, after the players returned from Porto, he called them into a meeting to re-assert his authority. The gist of his address to the squad was to tell them that he was convinced he still has their support, still in control as they attempt to arrest this alarming slump.

When Mourinho was in control at the start of last season, the Chelsea manager was easy-going and approachable. Understandably he has been tetchy and irritable in recent weeks, struggling to contain his emotions during the frequent exchanges with his squad. The forward-thinking players want to play with freedom, to showboat on the ball and approach matches with a sense of adventure.

First-teamers Terry, Nemanja Matic and Eden Hazard all started on the bench in Portugal on Tuesday night

Mourinho’s tactical approach restricts them, with incessant demands about team shape and awareness, with or without the ball, that have only intensified since the downturn in results.

He continues to make himself heard at Chelsea, the biggest single voice in the dressing room at Stamford Bridge.

The trick is to make sure the players are not tiring of it.

REDKNAPP IN AT SUNDERLAND?

Harry Redknapp said he would not manage again after leaving QPR, but his friendship with Sunderland owner Ellis Short has led to whispers in the game of a last hurrah.

Short spends most of his time in London, often dining at football hang-out Lucio in Belgravia as he tries to work out what has gone wrong with his latest managerial appointment. Dick Advocaat, who miraculously kept Sunderland in the Barclays Premier League last season, says he will walk away if someone better can motivate the team.

Sunderland have not won a league game this season and the Dutchman’s fate could be sealed by the time they face Newcastle in the Tyne-Wear derby on October 25.

Short is running out of options but could yet put his relationship with Redknapp at risk by turning to the former Tottenham manager.

Presumably it has not escaped Short’s attention that Redknapp worked with Jermain Defoe and Younes Kaboul at White Hart Lane.

Harry Redknapp's friendship with Sunderland owner Ellis Short has led to rumours he could return to management - the Black Cats are yet to win a Premier League game this season

Redknapp worked with Sunderland star Jermain Defoe at Tottenham as well as managing him at Portsmouth

WHAT I'M HEARING

1. Lewis Grabban, who has publicly apologised to Norwich team-mates for running away before their Capital One Cup tie in Rotherham, reaffirmed his commitment to them and coaching staff in the group huddle before training this week. Grabban was furious when manager Alex Neil refused to sell him back to Bournemouth in August.

2. Wayne Rooney will be given a specially commissioned golden boot by the FA before England’s Euro 2016 qualifier against Estonia at Wembley next Friday.

Rooney broke Sir Bobby Charlton’s record when he scored his 50th England goal against Switzerland and the boot is a more appropriate item to mark the achievement than the England shirt presented to him at Wembley last month.

3. Luke Shaw's rehabilitation work with Manchester United has begun after doctors were able to close the wound following an operation on his double leg break.

Shaw suffered the fracture during United’s Champions League defeat in Holland against PSV Eindhoven and had to wait for the wound to be sealed before he could start physio work.