Premier League 
/ Michael Lintorn / 05 March 2012 / Leave a Comment 
Jose Mourinho will have lots of offers if he ends up out of work this summer
"It would arguably be just as sweet to win the Champions League with another Premier League side and show Roman Abramovich what he missed out on."
Michael Lintorn isn't buying into the idea that Jose Mourinho will be back at Chelsea by August, even after they sacked Andre Villas-Boas on Sunday...
Roberto Di Matteo has rather surprisingly been put in charge of Chelsea until the end of the season, but in a job which coaches with trophy-littered CVs struggle to hold for a year, the chances of him surviving the summer seem slim.
The media campaign engineered by those who wanted rid of Andre Villas-Boas - axed with apparent reluctance on Sunday - is already underway. The Sun quote a club source as saying: "If anything, they like Roberto even less. He's just too cock-sure." A characteristic unbecoming of a Chelsea chief, don't you think Jose!
Betfair aren't offering a next boss market at present because Di Matteo has been confirmed for the campaign, and will try to salvage things by delivering a top-four finish [[2.8]], FA Cup glory [[5.5]] - something their last caretaker achieved - and Champions League progress past Napoli [[3.25]].
However, given the lack of belief that Di Matteo, who was sacked six months into his only previous Premier League season as a manager by Villas-Boas' conquerors West Brom, will earn a long-term deal, the discussion as to who will succeed him is well underway.
Pep Guardiola, Rafael Benitez and Fabio Capello have all been mentioned, but if either of the latter two were serious contenders, surely they would have been hired immediately. The man most Blues supporters long for though is Jose Mourinho.
Everyone suspects that he will leave Real Madrid this summer - which is nowhere near as much of a certainty as is implied - and as he is never shy about his fondness for England, there is optimism about him returning to Stamford Bridge.
Mourinho says that he loves Chelsea, but is that enough of an incentive to return? His tendency is to go to a club, make them great then walk shortly afterwards. The lengthy pursuit of the Champions League meant that they were the one team that he didn't enjoy that happy ending with, yet is lifting that trophy there a substantial enough prize to risk failing to scale the heights of his first spell?
Yes, he is confident enough to back his own ability, though it would arguably be just as sweet to win the Champions League with another Premier League side and show Roman Abramovich what he missed out on.
The Abramovich factor is a major obstacle. Relations between the pair are said to have improved, however it is far from certain that the Russian will allow him the freedom of the transfer market that he desires, and Mourinho may resent handing the owner who dismissed him a second chance.
And then there's the ageing stars, who idolise Mourinho, yet are nearing retirement. He has never won the Champions League in his first season at a club, so would likely require at least two again, and it is a long shot that Frank Lampard and co will be performing to the necessary level in 2014.
Would he really be willing to rip apart the team that he built and cast aside players that he considers friends? This writer isn't convinced...
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