COMMENT: As we enter the international break, if it was any other manager, at any other club, Jose Mourinho would be clearing out his desk at Cobham.
This next fortnight, just as FSG did previously at Liverpool, would be the ideal time for Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich to make the call. But the Special One is safe. No matter the result at Stoke City, Mourinho will still be in charge when their Premier League campaign resumes against Norwich City.
That show of support from the home faithful on Wednesday is what is keeping Mourinho in his job. The relationship between the manager and supporters is unlike anything we've seen in the modern game - including Pep Guardiola and Barcelona's fans.
Can you really imagine the same show of support from the Nou Camp if Guardiola's Barca were languishing just above the dropzone? No chance. For all the cynicism aimed at the supporters of big, global clubs, Chelsea's faithful need to be celebrated. Last Wednesday against Dynamo Kiev was emotional. It could well be a landmark day - when the Blues support took it upon itself to change the course of the club. Transforming the sacking culture at Stamford Bridge, to one where it is the manager who holds the authority, no matter how strong the personalities are inside the locker room.
What was missed during defeat at the Brit and all the carry on around Mourinho's absence, was the team he put out. The manager is giving supporters a glimpse into the future - particularly at the back.
He started Kurt Zouma in his natural position at centre-half alongside John Terry and also persisted with young Abdul Rahman Baba at left-back, throwing him up against Stoke's most talented player, Xherdan Shaqiri.
Given results and performances, critics will claim he's simply throwing his team selection up in the air and hoping something fits. But the rebuild is on. Mourinho has now kicked it off. No-one can argue against Zouma being Chelsea's long-term, senior centre-half. He managed only a handful of appearances, mainly in midfield, last season. Now Mourinho is stepping up the Frenchman's introduction. While chaos swirls all around, the manager - in the form of Zouma and Baba - is putting foundations in place for his next Chelsea team.
Ramires' new deal is also significant. Chelsea could easily have cashed in on the Brazilian in January. But Mourinho and Michael Emenalo, the football director, are obviously pleased with Ramires' impact on and off the pitch. At 28, he's now part of the senior leadership group. And with this new deal, Mourinho is positioning the Brazilian to become a major locker room influence in the coming years.
It's significant that after his day in the hotel, Mourinho returned to London to take in the U21s' thumping 4-0 win over Liverpool. Ruben Loftus-Cheek ran the game, scoring in front of his senior manager.
It was the midfielder's first U21 outing of the season. And tribalfootball.com understands Loftus-Cheek's appearance, with Mourinho in attendance, was no coincidence. The young lad didn't let himself down and having already impressed for the first team this season, an extended run in the Premier League is now being considered by management.
At Manchester United, Louis van Gaal cannily played this card on Saturday. It was a laborious, stilted performance against West Brom. But what United fans went away talking about wasn't the team's style of play, but Jesse Lingard's first goal for the club and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson's debut. Notice the lack of reaction from pundits - even from Paul Scholes?!
Mourinho could well make the same move against Norwich in a fortnight's time.
Without announcing it, the manager is already beginning the transition. And Norwich at the Bridge offers him the perfect opportunity to unveil to supporters his plans for the future.
Beyond Loftus-Cheek, it'd be the ideal game to give a local lad a Premier League debut. You can just imagine the reception and the lift it would give everyone if a Jay Dasilva or Tammy Abraham were to get a few minutes under their belt. Both players impressed in front of Mourinho on Sunday, with Abraham hitting another brace to add to the double he struck against Dynamo Kiev in the UEFA Youth League last week.
He isn't shouting it from the rooftops, but Mourinho is quietly overhauling last season's title winning team. As depressed as Chelsea fans are over current results, if they took a closer look at the team sheet, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
And the manager can make that all the more brighter by rewarding the faithful with the chance to see a local Blue make his debut next week.
INJURY TIME
Could Tammy Abraham force his way into Chelsea's first team next week? It would be a massive step up - but it's difficult to argue against the claim that, at this moment, he is the club's form striker.
Abraham now has eight goals this season, shared at U21 and UEFA Youth League level. He was only denied a hat-trick against Liverpool on Sunday by the cross-bar.
Like Dominic Solanke, now impressing away on-loan at Vitesse Arnhem, Abraham, also 18, has come right through the age levels at Chelsea, joining the club at seven years of age.
Last season, Camberwell-born Abraham scored a stunning 41 goals from 30 starts and this term he's hit doubles home and away against Dynamo in the UYL. The England U19 international earned a new contract just last month.
Scoring twice in front of a watching Jose Mourinho couldn't have hurt his chances of a sudden first team promotion next week.
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