Jose Mourinho says he feels 'betrayed' by Chelsea players but insists he wants to stay after Leicester defeat

Chelsea suffered a 2-1 loss to Leicester to remain just a point above the relegation zone

Eden Hazard talks with Jose Mourinho shortly before coming off (GETTY IMAGES)

Jose Mourinho claimed he felt ‘betrayed’ by his Chelsea players after seeing the champions suffer a 2-1 defeat at table-topping Leicester City, but insisted he is determined to meet the challenge of reviving his crisis-torn champions.

Goals from Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez condemned Chelsea to their eleventh defeat of the campaign in all competitions, with Loic Remy’s late goal failing to spark a late fightback.

But with Chelsea now hovering just one point above the relegation zone, Mourinho insisted that his preparation for the game had been in vain due to his players failing to take heed of his instructions.

“One of my best qualities is that I can read the game and identify the strengths of the opponent and tell my players what they are,” Mourinho said. “So it it is a big frustration to accept the goals because my work was betrayed, if that is the right word.

“I worked four days in this match. I prepared everything related to the opponent. I identify four movements where they scored almost every their goals.

“My players got all that information in last three days, you can ask them, they are honest guys who will tell you it is true.

“But in the situations I identify, we concede the first and second goal. The mistakes were there.”

Despite his decision to publicly criticise his players for failing to stick to the game plan, Mourinho insisted he was ready to fight on as manager.

“The only thing I can say is that I want to be (the manager.)” Mourinho said. “I have no doubts and I think that you know me well enough, six years here, that I am not afraid of a big challenge.

“At this moment, it is a real big challenge and I want to stay. I hope Mr Abramovich and the board want me to stay.

“I know that the board wants the best for this club. I would like the board to analyse the situation, the budget, the balance of the club and what they were expecting.”

With the transfer window due to reopen on January 1, Mourinho claimed he had no intention of adding to his failing squad.

But he urged his current players to drag themselves out of their position by showing greater humility.

“I don’t think it is right I go to the club and say ‘this player is not good and we need to spent £50m or whatever,’ Mourinho said. “We have these players and it is with these players that we have to go.

“But they must feel intact with their pride and get results in a humble way.

“At the moment, they cannot feel they are top players or superstars. They must look at the Leicester players and see that they are the stars, the top players.

“They have to look at Sunderland Watford and say, hey, we are at the same level.

“The players have to put their feet on the ground and be humble. At this moment, we are where Sunderland are and we are below Watford, so we have to be humble.”

Mourinho, meanwhile, insisted Belgian winger Eden Hazard was suffering from an injury after his decision to come off on the half hour following an innocuous challenge from Vardy.

“He made a decision in a few seconds,” Mourinho said. “He was on the floor, he said he can’t do it, then after a couple of seconds he said he would try, but after a couple of steps he goes back.

"He made the decision to come off, so it must be a serious injury. He's injured clearly."