Mourinho Gives Verdict on Current Chelsea Team Compared to Class of 2004

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho believes the current Blues squad is not at par with the side which he managed during his first spell at Stamford Bridge. The Portuguese tactician returned to the west London club earlier this summer, replacing Rafael Benitez.

Chelsea have just won two games in their first four games, which includes a 1-0 defeat to Everton last weekend. The former Real Madrid manager believes he needs time to develop the current crop of players as the Blues suffered their worst start since Roman Abramovich took over the club.

"No, it is not 2004 all over again. Then we lost against Manchester City in October - our only defeat. But that is not the point. We are not unbeatable. This is a different team," Mourinho explained.

'I came here to work - I don't say peacefully because I am the first one that does not like to work peacefully - but to work with time, to develop the players and play the best they and we can," he added.

Despite the poor start, Mourinho remains confident that Chelsea are still in contention to challenge for the title. Meanwhile, the 50-year-old manager has urged his side to be more effective.

"We have to be effective, be adult and not naive. That is what we have to work on. We have to transform the beautiful football we played into goals. We are not a club who will accept in a cool way that things will come. We're going to chase it," Mourinho said.

"The beginning of the season was hard. Away against Manchester United, away in the Super Cup against Bayern, and away against Everton. But Saturday was the story of a team with 21 shots that couldn't score a goal. That is the beauty of football," Chelsea manager concluded.

Romelu Lukaku, who joined Everton on a season-long loan from Chelsea believes his spell at Goodison Park will help become more deadly in front of goal.

"Everton is a good team. Another year for me is important for my development. Everton is a good club for me and you can see it's a good footballing team. For me it was the most important thing that I could learn on the footballing side and be more clever and much more deadly in front of goal," Lukaku stressed.