Why 'betrayed' Jose may actually quit

Nothing changed until a storm erupted in the wake of the first leg of the Champions League tie with Barcelona which resulted in

Chelsea advising their manager to tone down his comments.

Assistant Steve Clark was ordered to represent Mourinho in the media and the manager has not spoken publicly since. Deprived of the chance to defend himself in public, Mourinho was enraged. His Portuguese coaching staff - his closest confidantes - watched him simmer with perceived injustice and feared the worst.

Captain John Terry was implored to act as intermediary with Kenyon, with the explanation that, if a compromise was not agreed, Mourinho could leave in the summer.

Those at Stamford Bridge who work most closely with Mourinho know him as a temperamental genius who says things in the heat of the moment.

The Barcelona imbroglio, however, was a point of principle along the same lines as his loyalty to others. It was, after all, on the basis of testimony from two of his lieutenants at the Nou Camp that he made his now infamous accusation that Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard had spent time with referee Anders Frisk at half time.

Mourinho's sense of camaraderie later saw him admit he had acted on the word of others but he refused to back down and was subsequently banned for two matches by UEFA for bringing the game into disrepute.

It is the club's unwillingness to appeal against the punishment which led to a major disagreement between Mourinho and Kenyon and pushed the former to consider his future at the club.

His reasoning for such an extreme stance is simple. He vehemently believes he has done nothing wrong, so why should he accept any punishment? He views it as a personal betrayal that the club - headed by Kenyon - should think differently.

That was why, after discussions between the manager and chief executive on the subject of the appeal broke down, a briefing detailing the situation was given to a respected Portuguese football website by a source very close to Mourinho.

Neither party spoke on Saturday until Kenyon, unusually, visited the Chelsea dressing room after Frank Lampard and Eidur Gudjohnson had inspired the team to a 3-1 win over Southampton.

There were no words or conciliatory gestures, however, and the cynical might even wonder that Kenyon's primary concern was the presence of Abramovich - a regular visitor after matches - and the possibility that Mourinho might raise the issue directly.

That did not happen either, which was why Chelsea were still undecided about appealing last night in the hope that some kind of accord might be struck and order restored to the emerging empire.

Perhaps only Abramovich's intervention will defuse the brinkmanship that has threatened to undermine Chelsea's glorious season. And if the Russian is forced to take sides? Well, we all know who is the chosen one.