Sunderland braces for Chelsea reaction to Mourinho exit

LONDON, AP:

Even at Chelsea's lowest ebb, the fans were still chanting JosE Mourinho's name.

Just how will they react to the departure of the "Special One," the most successful manager in Chelsea's history? Owner Roman Abramovich won't have to wait long to find out, with Chelsea hosting Sunderland today at Stamford Bridge.

Surely, though, the atmosphere cannot be as bitter and divisive as the 2012-13 season, when Abramovich defied fans by appointing Rafa Benitez. Guus Hiddink would be a popular interim choice, having won the FA Cup in 2009 with Chelsea after briefly holding the fort between Luis Felipe Scolari's firing and Carlo Ancelotti's appointment.

There's an immediate need to halt the decline. Chelsea is in the midst of the worst-ever defence of a Premier League title. The danger of relegation is real however improbable with Chelsea sitting only a point above the drop zone after 16 games. With each game, making the top four and qualifying for next season's Champions League looks increasingly unlikely.

For a team of Chelsea's standing, nine losses are an embarrassment particularly after winning the title by eight points in May.

The situation for today's opponent, though, is even worse, with Sunderland three points further back in the drop zone.

Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce was shocked that Chelsea decided to ditch Mourinho only four months after he signed a new four-year contract.

"I'm sad to see Jose go," Allardyce said. "He's a great manager with great character and he's a loss to the Barclays Premier League I think."

Mourinho's parting shot to his squad was saying he felt betrayed by them in Monday's 2-1 loss at Leicester.

"It's a pretty bad indictment on the players if they actually go and perform a lot, lot better than they have done recently just (be) cause Jose's lost his job," Allardyce said. "There seems to be that reaction sometimes from a squad of players when one manager goes and they wait to see which new manager's coming in."