The country was first introduced to the personality and the man of Jose Mourinho last season, when he had the audacity to dance and run up the touchline on the night that his Porto side scored that dramatic last minute goal to send Sir Alex Ferguson and his Man United All Stars crashing out of the Champions League. Subsequently Mourinho and his Porto men went on the lift the Champions League trophy adding to Porto's winning haul of domestic league titles, cups and the previous year, the UEFA cup.

Now in the Chelsea hot seat, he has turned the club around on its head going from a club with potential (a club with 50 odd years of potential) to a club that can become European Champions. If not this year, then the next and the next and the next after that. Chelsea under Mourinho's guidance, guile, panache can dominate English football like Liverpool once did, like Man Utd have done and Arsenal trying to.

In the short space of seven months, Mourinho has created a team with so much self-belief, a spirit more than all of the world's distilleries put together and is banding togther everybody associated with the club as one. In the year that Chelsea Football Club celebrate their 100 year anniversary, becoming Premiership champions would see celebrations run for many months and years to come.

Managers before him had tried in vain to get the old Harlington Training ground either updated or training facilities moved elsewhere. Mourinho had hardly warmed his managerial seat when he told the club that the Harlington facilities were just not good enough and not up to his high professional standards. Behold the club moved to Cobham. Mourinho gets what he wants.

Cue the week that Chelsea, the fans and Jose have been through. First there was the FA Cup defeat at Newcastle. Unlucky to get at least a draw from the game, although a replay would not have been that welcomed a replay would have been gratefully received, the half-time triple substitution, the unlucky Bridge getting injured no sooner the second half kicked off, Carlo's unfortunate sending off costing him his place in the Carling Cup final.

Next up. The trip to Barcelona and all the chaos that went on inside the Nou Camp. A defeat which Jose doesn't recognise as one (its only half-time), the allegations of Frisk being frisked in his dressing room, the inept performance of referee Frisk himself, Drogba being sent off for a nothing challenge, the antics of Deco diving around like a performing seal or dolphin (seals and dolphins have more grace) and the constant attacks and sniping by the British press more over from the gutter tabloids. The trouble with this country is that no one likes a winner. Especially if that person, individual or team comes from a foreign land. The British press, once they get their rabid jaws clenched to your ankles, they are hard to shake off.

I admire Jose Mourinho for continually saying that he doesn't feel pressure and that he thrives and lives on pressure and that pressure makes him the type of person that Jose Mourinho is. However I somehow think that although he doesn' t take his work home, his boss, the wife won't let him I bet you a pound to a dollar that he does and is hurt to the core like we all would be.

Jose's actions at yesterday's final by walking up the touchline in front of a section of Liverpool supporters with his finger to his lips, gesturing ssssshhhhh probably wasn't the best thing that Mourinho has ever done in his life, but what the hell. Liverpudlians are renowned for their wit and humour and if the gesture was made at them as it was suggested, then I suggest that for a few seconds all those Liverpool supporters had a sense of humour by-pass. Unfortunately for Jose, by stating that the gesture was directed at the British press and media, he may have dug himself a bigger hole with the 'hack's' as the press were situated on the other side of the stadium.

And to be accused of sarcastically waving at the Liverpool fans at the end of the match, when he was in no doubt waving to his wife and family, is going a bit to far.

JOSE MOURINHO

Maverick

Unorthodox

A LEGEND

Onwards and Upwards. Next Stop. The Premiership!