Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has responded to former England manager Fabio Capello over his assertion the Portuguese had “burned out” his players.

According to the Guardian‘s Dominic Fifield, Mourinho told Gazzetta dello Sport: 

I think a coach with his story in the game is better talking about football without commenting on the work of his colleagues.

I could have commented on his job as coach of England, or of his work with Russia, but I never did. Because I prefer to respect the negative moments of my colleagues. I prefer to talk more of Fabio Capello in the many beautiful moments of his career, those that were full of extraordinary success.

The Blues were rampant for the first half of last season, dominating in virtually every match, but they saw their form drop in the latter half of the campaign as they resorted to sitting back after taking the lead.

Chelsea’s outstanding defence and little challenge from elsewhere allowed them to comfortably and deservedly take the Premier League title, but a summer off has done little to rejuvenate the players, who have kicked off the new campaign in dreadful form.

Currently 16th in the table and a full 10 points behind league leaders Manchester City, the Blues already appear to be out of the title race and are even at risk of missing out on a Champions League place.

Midfielder Cesc Fabregas has been particularly poor and already appeared to be running on fumes at the back end of last season. The Spaniard racked up a stunning 19 assists in the Premier League, but only four came after January.

A solitary assist is all the 28-year-old can boast in the league this season, and with the likes of Eden Hazard, Nemanja Matic and Branislav Ivanovic all seriously underperforming as well, there could be some truth in Capello’s comments.

Further, the squad’s lack of strength in depth also increases the strain on the first team, as Mourinho has few quality alternatives to the stars already on the pitch and therefore can’t do as much rotation as he might like to keep them fresh.

The manager was also prompted to give his thoughts on Leicester City boss Claudio Ranieri, who was his predecessor at Chelsea in his first spell. The 52-year-old took the opportunity to mock the Italian’s grasp of English and trophy record.

Per Fifield’s report, he said, “He has lived for five years in England and still has trouble saying good morning and good afternoon. He is almost 70 [Ranieri is 63], and he has won a Super Cup and another small cup. He’s too old to change mentality.”

Ranieri enjoyed a four-year spell at Stamford Bridge and went on to coach the likes of Valencia, Juventus and Roma before returning to English football in the summer to replace outgoing Foxes manager Nigel Pearson.

With Fiorentina, the boss won the Copa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana, and he also lifted the Copa del Rey in his first spell with Los Che.

Mourinho is known for his mind games, most notably his repeated attempts to get under Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger’s skin, demonstrated by BBC Sport, and he previously branded then-Roma boss Ranieri a “loser” during his time at Inter Milan, per ESPN FC.

The affable Ranieri has firmly endeared himself to Leicester fans and neutrals alike for overseeing their magnificent form on the pitch, as well as for his promises of pizza and hot dogs if his players can keep a clean sheet.

As the Blues are not set to face Leicester until December and are not direct rivals to Chelsea, the timing of the jibe is strange.

However, the club’s controversial boss is enduring a torrid time and is most likely on edge because of the club’s current standing, so perhaps the comments aren’t so surprising after all.

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