Mourinho believes Chelsea will turn into 'predators' once they get into their groove

‘He mustn’t be up and down but always at the top of his game because he has the ability to be a top player. This is what I want. Whether I can get it I don’t know but he is working very hard. I’m very happy with the kid.’
Mourinho baring his teeth in this way on the eve of Aston Villa’s visit to Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night brings back memories of the 8-0 slaughter in the corresponding fixture last season.
That is a remote possibility this time given Villa’s improvement under Paul Lambert but the Chelsea boss remains in pursuit of a player capable of lethal finishing to repeat such scorelines.

Come on: Jose Mourinho is trying to inspire Hazard to become one of the greatest players in the world

However he rowed back on previous statements that it was ‘Wayne Rooney or bust’ and said: ‘We have Plan B and C.’ Mourinho would not comment on a mooted move for Samuel Eto’o but it is clear he craves a focal point for his creative midfielders.

The two Manchester clubs each scored four in their opening games, yet Mourinho was keen to broaden the canvas of possible champions.

‘At this moment we cannot speak about two sides, we have to speak about six sides,’ he said.
‘Let’s see if any one of the six is good enough to make a real difference, to disappear and be in the zone to be dominant, or if we will get to the end with great balance between the sides.’

Jose Mourinho revealed his predatory instinct yesterday by promising that Chelsea will ‘destroy’ teams this season if they maintain high intensity for entire matches.
A host of attacking talent lies at the Portuguese’s disposal and the trio of Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and Oscar tore Hull apart in the opening half on Sunday.

Roar: Mourinho is adamant Chelsea will fire on all cylinders when experience and fitness comes

But the young players tired and the score remained a relatively bloodless 2-0. Mourinho is confident that when fitness and experience improves, his Chelsea side will go for the kill and rack up goals.

‘If we do that, we will destroy an opponent,’ he said. ‘We’ll get a much bigger result because going that way you have to score goals.
‘We want to win matches. But what I like is that when you have the chance to beat them by three, four or five, we have to do it.’

The declaration came with a caveat for Hazard, who Mourinho said must gain more ambition if he is to fulfil his potential. ‘When you are a normal player you have to be happy if you perform OK,’ he said. ‘But when you are a top talent you can’t waste it.

Eden for the top? Hazard started well against Hull but faded significantly in the second half

Predators: Mourinho is excited to see what his attacking force can do when fully integrated