The Nick Townsend Column: Mourinho the stand-up master happy to stay and stand up to his detractors

Suddenly, the laptop literati sense blood at the erosion of Chelsea's seemingly unassailable advantage. And there is no more unedifying spectacle than a media mob in full cry.

Jose Mourinho had, perhaps wisely, seemingly gone to ground. He had even ducked out of a confrontation with TV's arch-interrogator. "Rattled Jose pulls out of Parky Chat", the headline sang in one of Friday's red-tops. If it had been a cross-examination by Paxman one could have understood his circumspection. But Parky? What were those "potentially embarrassing questions" from Michael Parkinson he was avoiding? Apparently nothing more damaging than the fact that the Blues had not secured the title - yet.

Anyway, on Friday, he emerged as sprightly as Ricky Hatton, prepared to fend off cheap shots. "I have to be the man of the bad moment," is how he describes his role during a period when, off the field, rumours are percolating like cheap coffee about the triumvirate of Roman Abramovich, Peter Kenyon and himself, although Chelsea insist that all's well between owner, chief executive and manager.

On the field, his team are still reeling from accusations of several misdemeanours, the most damnable being "cheating". Their form - perhaps their confidence, too - has been shot through. Can they stumble to the line? A worst-case scenario could mean their lead over Sir Alex Ferguson's men dwindling to one by Easter. All the analogies are there. From Devon Loch to the constant reminder of Kevin Keegan's prize giveaway of points back in those days when he vainly kept the Asprilla flying as Fergie snuck in on the blindside to usurp his Newcastle team's title.

Mourinho is in mischievous mood. He nobly approves of Arsenal's recent renaissance and fluidity of play. "They deserve what you write about them," he says quietly, before adding, with a thrust of the blade, "but at the same time, can you imagine it? 'Jose Mourinho: 25 points behind the leaders in the Premiership'. He places his hands over his eyes in mock horror. Actually, Arsène Wenger's team are 26 points behind his. But the point is made. Better that his side are having to be nursed to the winning post, amid much chuckling at his discomfort, than, like Arsenal, tailed off.

But Arsenal can still secure the Champions' League. Would he not consider himself a failure if he did not do so here, given Abramovich's largesse? He cannot deny himself the opportunity of a swift counter-attack. He reels off the names of Arsenal defenders against Juventus, and the millions they cost. "At Porto, my defence cost €1.5 million [£1m]. So, I also won the Champions' League with very small resources."

But Arsenal are admired for their finesse and fluidity, I put it to him. His team are not. Guus Hiddink (a possible successor, should Mourinho move on) recently described Chelsea as "boring". How important was it for him to leave this country with people saying, "Jose Mourinho had a brilliant football team?"

"No. For me, I will leave this country one day and you will never say I am a hypocrite. Because I am Jose Mourinho from the first day to the last day, as a person. You cannot change me." Don't you care what people say about your football, then? He declares: "I don't care."

He had planned to put the title to bed by now. But poor performances are giving him sleepless nights. After matches, he insists. Not before. "Before the game, I sleep like a child. After the game, win or lose, I don't sleep well." But then he has the world's worries on his shoulders. It is less a press conference at Chelsea's Cobham training complex, more improvised stand-up. "I know you love to have me here," he says, as he restates his intent to honour a contract which expires in 2010, despite reports linking him with Internazionale. "It's easy for you to go home with plenty to write about."

He speaks about his fears of avian flu, how he tears up the tactical notes he makes during a game for fear they will fall into the wrong hands - unlike at Porto, he says, where he would sign them and present them to a fan... and a lot more. One journalist starts to applaud him, then realises where he is.

But then someone put it straight to him: "You paint a pretty grim picture of life here: dead swans, a hostile press, and a public whom you wouldn't be happy to throw your notes to. If it's that bad, why would you want to stay until 2010?"

"Why?" he looks slightly bemused. "Because I want to win a Premiership for the third time - if [he swiftly adds] we win it the second time now. Because Chelsea are a long-term project, not a short-term one."

He adds: "Maybe we did it too soon. Nobody asked me to win the Premiership in my first season. But probably when I leave England, I don't come back again as a professional. So, why should I go now when I can stay and enjoy my time here? My life is about experiences. The English experience will end with Chelsea. If I'm happy here, if I'm enjoying working in this club, and in this Premiership, why should I leave?"

Do his team possess the character to maintain their advantage? "I think so. I think Sunday [against West Ham] is a good chance for that answer because for the first time we have [only] a seven-point lead; it is the least for three or four months. But when I look at my players: Makelele, John Terry, Gallas, Frank Lampard, Crespo... I cannot believe these players are not comfortable playing in a situation like this."

He is pressed about his own nerves. "For me, no problem. I think if there was a big possibility of me losing my third consecutive championship, I think I'd be more nervous. But I won the last three [including at Porto], and I can say there's a big percentage of chances of winning the fourth. No, I'm not nervous."

And how does he maintain equilibrium in the camp? Report-edly, Joe Cole was not enamoured with being withdrawn after 20 minutes against Fulham recently. "I think it is their problem," he insists. "It is not my problem. For me, it's not difficult. I think a player has to be ready professionally, to play or not play, to be on the bench, to live in a competitive world. They understand this: 'If I don't play well, another player is waiting for a chance. If the team is not winning, the manager looks for other solutions. Even if I'm playing well, the manager during the game makes some changes and I'm sacrificed'."

The Chelsea manager is asked about Kenyon, his chief executive, and their rapport. "It's better now than when I came to Chelsea," he says. "Because when I came here I don't know him. Now I have a relationship with him of almost two years, and the relationship is going into this direction [he nods forward], professionally and personally. If I don't have a relationship with him, I'm not here."

The body language persuades you that he will be around for a while yet. Though if Ferguson's stayers do snatch the spoils on the rails, you do just wonder whether Mourinho is truly the man for the bad moment.