Jose Mourinho claims Chelsea have learned from blowing the title run-in last season, and hinted the lessons from that may have been behind his determination to build up a healthy early lead in this campaign. The Portuguese said he is greatly enjoying the “isolated” position Chelsea are in at the top, that means they have no dependence on other results.

Mourinho’s side were last year in a much tighter race and paid for an inability to break down weaker sides, as they lost 2-1 at home to Sunderland and also drew 0-0 with Norwich City at Stamford Bridge. Mourinho referenced that defeat to Sunderland, which ensured the title was no longer in Chelsea’s own hands. Fabio Borini scored a controversial late penalty to seal victory for the away side in what was Mourinho’s first league defeat at The Bridge. Now, even if they lose at QPR today, Chelsea would still have a cushion.

“Don’t make me remember the game against Sunderland because that was the game which stopped us fighting for the title,” Mourinho said, referencing the contentious refereeing decisions.

Premier League player power rankings - 7 April Show all 19 1 /19 Premier League player power rankings - 7 April Premier League player power rankings - 7 April 20) Hugo Lloris Michel Vorm is a fine understudy but Lloris is one of the best two or three goalkeepers in the league. Spurs still have an outside chance at the Champions League but are relying on Manchester City and Liverpool to slip up. Premier League player power rankings - 7 April 19) Kelvin Davis Like Tottenham, Southampton's tilt at the Champions League has just slowed in recent weeks. Ronald Koeman's men still boast the best defence in the Premier League and No 2 Kelvin Davis will have to fill the big gloves of Fraser Forster who is out for around a year. Getty Images Premier League player power rankings - 7 April 18) Loic Remy Has been crucial to Chelsea in the last couple of games, scoring two winning goals that earned the club six points. With Diego Costa facing a spell on the sidelines his stock could rise between now and the end of the season, but the Blues do have Didier Drogba to call upon if needed. Getty Images Premier League player power rankings - 7 April 17) Harry Kane Kane has arguably been the Premier League's best striker this season and is a shoe-in to win the Young Player of the Year award. He'd be higher on this list if Spurs had more to play for. Getty Premier League player power rankings - 7 April 16) Daniel Sturridge Sturridge continues to be bothered by his injury problems and is clearly way below 100 per cent. He only has five goals all season and after the defeat to Arsenal it seems as if Liverpool's chance at a Champions League spot has gone. The Reds will be desperately hoping that Manchester City will continue their poor form Getty Images Premier League player power rankings - 7 April 15) Vincent Kompany The City captain's form has fallen off a cliff this season and he looks a shell of his former self. Unfortunately for the blue half of Manchester, City's defensive options are truly limited. Kompany is high on this list because of City's terrible options at the back - Eliaquim Mangala is on his way to becoming one of the biggest transfer flops England has ever seen. Getty Images Premier League player power rankings - 7 April 14) John Terry Has played every minute of every Premier League game this season and has been the division's best defender. Chelsea still can't do without their captain even at the ripe age of 34. Getty Images Premier League player power rankings - 7 April 13) Alexis Sanchez Is enjoying one of the best maiden seasons in the Premier League ever. Sanchez, who scored another brilliant goal at the weekend, would be higher on this list but Arsenal have plenty of options on the wings. His absence would be a huge loss but the Gunners would just about be able to cope. Getty Images Premier League player power rankings - 7 April 12) Wayne Rooney Louis van Gaal finally conceding that his captain had to play up front has changed United's season and sparked a late title push. He has six goals in his last eight games and with United still to play at Stamford Bridge an upset is still on the cards. GETTY IMAGES Premier League player power rankings - 7 April 11) Jordan Henderson Henderson has stepped into Gerrard's shoes this season to become Liverpool's most important player. Rodgers' biggest mistake on Saturday was to shunt his best player into a right-wing back role where he was marginalised. If Liverpool want anything from this season he has to play in the middle. GETTY IMAGES Premier League player power rankings - 7 April 10) Jake Livermore At the start of the season Hull were predicted to be comfortably in mid-table, perhaps even push for a European place. They've been dreadful this season but Livermore has been one of their better performers all season. Injuries and suspensions to a raft of midfielders means he will take on a bigger role in the final weeks. GETTY IMAGES Premier League player power rankings - 7 April 9) Sergio Aguero Manchester City's downfall this season is directly linked to Aguero's injury back at the start of December. The stats speak for themselves: 19 goals in 20 games before the injury, four goals in 14 games since returning. He must get back to his best if City are to have any chance of defending their title - or even staying in the top four. GETTY IMAGES Premier League player power rankings - 7 April 8) Jermain Defoe He's not quite fired Sunderland to life the way some predicted when he arrived in January, but he is the Black Cats' biggest hope. Three goals since he arrived but they have come in games that have yielded seven points - Dick Advocaat needs more supply to his front man. GETTY IMAGES Premier League player power rankings - 7 April 7) Christian Benteke Weekends don't get much worse when you're down at the bottom, as all of Villa's rivals - except Hull - won their matches. Villa needed to beat QPR at home but could only manage a draw against their relegation rivals. After his brilliant hat-trick Benteke now has seven goals in his last four games - Villa will survive on his form alone. Getty Images Premier League player power rankings - 7 April 6) Danny Ings Burnley continue to frustrate their opponents but they are just not creating enough chances. Ings has been hailed for his performances this season but he has only nine goals all season and none since 11 February. If he can get three or so in the last seven games the Clarets will have a great chance of staying up. Getty Images Premier League player power rankings - 7 April 5) Esteban Cambiasso His legs aren't quite what they used to be but the veteran midfielder has been Leicester's most consistent performer all season, adding a touch of real class to a workman like side. Has popped with four goals this season as well, second only to Leonardo Ulloa who has not scored in the Premier League in 2015. Getty Images Premier League player power rankings - 7 April 3) David De Gea The Premier League's form goalkeeper all season long, De Gea's continued excellence has covered in a big way for what is a mediocre defence. He has been the great constant in a season of peaks and troughs for the rest of the squad. Victor Valdes has not played a competitive game in more than a year - if he was called upon who knows what the result would be. GETTY IMAGES Premier League player power rankings - 7 April 2) Olivier Giroud Olivier Giroud has been the biggest single reason for Arsenal's late title push. While Giroud was out between August and late November, a 15-point gap had opened up between Arsenal and Chelsea. Since making a scoring return in the defeat to Manchester United, Giroud has been on a tear, scoring 13 goals in 18 games - a period that has seen 14 wins, a draw and just three defeats. The gap is now just seven points. Getty Images Premier League player power rankings - 7 April 1) Eden Hazard We're not saying that Eden Hazard is the best player in the Premier League, but he is the only irreplaceable member of the Premier League leaders. Chelsea would be a shadow of the team without the Belgian. While Hazard's fellow attacking midfielders (Oscar, Willian, Juan Cuadrado) have combined to score just eight goals and provide 10 assists all season, Hazard has 12 goals and seven assists on his own. With Diego Costa out he is Chelsea's go-to guy. Getty Images

“What happened against Sunderland is something we cannot control. We don’t want to think about it. Last season we were depending on others. We needed this team to lose a couple of points here, a couple of points there. This situation is different. Everybody learns with experiences. If you leave the experiences, you don’t reflect and catch the opportunities to try to be better and stronger, it’s a big mistake.”

Asked whether his players now expected to win the title, Mourinho said the important issue was to just concentrate on their own job – which is facilitated by a formidable lead.

“We spoke about it. We don’t want to be influenced by anything. And we are in a position where we can be isolated of everything. We don’t have to be watching [Manchester] City against Man United. We don’t have to be waiting for what they are going to do. We are in a situation where I think it’s good. We just think about ourselves. I know that Man United play Man City and Arsenal play at Burnley, but I know the same way I know that Tottenham plays Aston Villa and Fulham plays against Wigan. I know because I know, not because I’m worried. That creates a very good situation for us as we just think about ourselves.

“We have a game on Sunday. We know the opponent. We know the players. We know the stadium. We know everything. We know it will be difficult but we just focus on that. When QPR match finishes, then we think about what next. I like this situation about being isolated of everything. It’s just us.”

Mourinho also claimed that the current Premier League is “more difficult now than ever” to win. “It’s my fifth or sixth Premier League that I play. It is more difficult than ever.”