Chelsea United the key for Mourinho

Chelsea's captain John Terry (L) receives instructions from manager Jose Mourinho (R) as his shirt is repaired during their Champions League football match against Porto. Mourinho said he was amazed by the team spirit amongst Chelsea stars and insists it is making them unbeatable

Jose Mourinho is amazed by the team spirit amongst his Chelsea stars and insists it is making them unbeatable.

The Portuguese boss guided Porto to Champions League glory last season with a team that was better than the sum of its parts and is thrilled with the way the Blues have gelled since taking over at Stamford Bridge during the pre-season.

The Chelsea boss roped in a few familiar faces from his all-conquering Porto team, invested some of Blues owner Roman Abramovich's fortune in Ivory Coast goalscorer Didier Drogba and trimmed the bloated squad he inherited from predecessor Claudio Ranieri into a tight unit.

The trick has worked so far as the English Premiership side have yet to lose this season and have conceded just twice in their nine games.

"The mentality of the team is fantastic," Mourinho said after watching his new side crush visitors Porto 3-1 to stay atop Champions League Group H with a maximum six points.

"Every moment, every second of the game we play as a team. In most of the big teams in Europe where the big players are, some of them, they think a little bit more about themselves and less about the team," he explained.

"What I can feel, and for me it's absolutely amazing, is the way that my big players play as a unit and play for a result. That's the reason why over nine matches nobody could beat us," he added.

Mourinho has certainly put his distinctive stamp on Chelsea's style of play. In the match against his former club, the Blues at times looked more like the team that won the Champions League last season that Porto did, defending resolutely and capitalising on attacking chances.

"I always think positive. I always believe in good things but I realise that life in football sometimes is not like you want. Bad days sometimes arrive and I am ready for them," he said of his management philosophy.

"It's important to choose not just the players but also the characters and the personalities. In big teams sometimes you make mistakes and get the wrong people. But we have the right personalities and characters," he added.

The Blues boss still strives for even higher footballing standards, despite having won the Champions League and the UEFA Cup with Porto and remaining unconquered at Stamford Bridge.

"The team are a bit far from my ideal football which is a bit different from what they are used to playing," Mourinho said.

"From a defensive point of view, our team is really compact and strong. Even when opponents have the ball you can feel the safety in our defensive line.

"In terms of possession I like my team to have even more control of the game. There are different ways to play football and when the team is able to control every second of the game it's a perfect one."

Legendary former Nottingham Forest and Derby manager Brian Clough guided provincial club Forest to two European Cup triumphs, through inspiring leadership, rigid instruction and simple football.

In some of his last comments on the game before his death from stomach cancer earlier in September, the old master praised the Chelsea manager's similar methods.

"I like the look of Mourinho, there's a bit of the young Clough about him," he told Champions magazine. "Like me, he doesn't believe in the star system. He's consumed with team spirit and discipline, the players have to fit in with his vision and pattern of play, which is right."

The doctrine succeeded at Forest and Porto without a host of star names. Now Mourinho is making it can work at moneybags Chelsea, and not even the Champions-League-winning team he built could prove him wrong.