Jose Mourinho reveals half-time technique in the dressing room

Jose Mourinho has revealed that he refused to talk to his Chelsea players during the half-time break in the 3-1 victory over Fulham on Saturday.

Chelsea were goalless at half-time against the bottom club in the Premier League in a game of few chances, before the second half saw an Andre Schurrle hat-trick secure the victory to make Johnny Heitinga’s late strike little more than a consolation.

Mourinho admitted he was very disappointed with the first-half display and gave no team talk, instead forcing his players to sit in silence.

The Blues boss told reporters: “I didn’t say a word at half-time, I was silent.

“Normally I give them two or three minutes for them clean or change boots or shirts, and then after that they know I’ll start talking.

“They were there ready for me, but I was not ready for them. I decided not to speak because, if I started to speak about the first half, I’d need more than the ten minutes of half-time. I was so disappointed.

“That was the first time I’ve done that, at Chelsea for sure, and also perhaps in my career. But I haven’t had many first halves like this one.

“It was very bad, so I decided not to speak and went outside, did nothing, just waited for the second half.

“The players showed they were very intelligent. Without words, they understood the first half was really poor and they transformed it into a fantastic second half.”

Chelsea moved four points clear at the top of the Premier League table with their win and maintained their points advantage over Liverpool, but with Manchester City having two games in hand, that lead is sure to be cut down.