Mourinho regrets not moving some of last season's title winners on

The 52-year-old believes a top four finish this season - and Champions League qualification - is already beyond his side with 22 matches still to play, a confession that has caused alarm among the Blues board, along with Chelsea’s dreadful domestic form.

A lack of available top-level alternatives has helped keep Mourinho in the job when his future has been discussed by the top brass.

Last week’s win over Porto, which sealed as place in the last-16 of the Champions League, also bought him more time.

But while he retains enough support among the hierarchy to keep his job for now, Mourinho is in danger of losing it among his players.

A number of them have under-performed badly this season and look shadows of the players who inspired the west London club to the title last year.

And Mourinho has told his squad he feels he was too soft in the summer and should have moved some of them on before their form started to dip.

He is understood to have been prepared to shoulder the blame earlier in the season as he assessed his side’s struggles. But, as the campaign and Chelsea’s woes have continued, he has now concluded his players are at fault.

Their ability to produce results and performances in some games but not show up for others have strengthened his belief.

Mourinho has called out individual players at various points during the season but his frustration with his squad as a whole boiled over when he slammed them publicly and at length after the Leicester defeat.

He said: “One of my best qualities is that I can read the game and identify the strengths of the opponent and tell my players what they are. So it it is a big frustration to accept the goals [Leicester scored] because my work was betrayed, if that is the right word.

“In the situations I identify, we concede the first and second goal. The mistakes were there.

“One possibility is that I did an amazing job last season and brought the players to a level that is not their level and now they can’t maintain it.”

Mourinho’s treatment of controversial striker Diego Costa is believed to be another source of friction.

Some members of Chelsea’s squad are believed to feel Spain international striker Costa gets away with things others wouldn’t be allowed to.

The 27-year-old admitted he returned for pre-season overweight, but went unpunished.

He also had a public bust-up with Mourinho during last month’s Champions League clash with Maccabi Tel-Aviv.

Costa was also the last of Chelsea’s out-of-form stars to be dropped, despite being arguably one of their least effective players this season.

And when he was benched against Tottenham, Costa produced another public show of dissent, chucking his substitute's bib in Mourinho’s direction when he didn’t get on - an action that also went unpunished.

Mourinho has admitted this season that he has treated Costa differently and given him leeway with “little things”.

Eden Hazard is expected to be available for Saturday’s game with fellow strugglers Sunderland after going off with a bruised hip on Monday.

To the frustration of Mourinho, the reigning players' and writers' footballer of the year told his manager he couldn’t continue once he suffered the injury.