Grant: Mourinho Needs Time  (Sky Sports)

Former Chelsea boss Avram Grant says Jose Mourinho "deserves a chance" to turn the club's season around.

Mourinho guided Chelsea to the Premier League title last season, having previously won it twice during his first spell in charge at Stamford Bridge.

Grant believes media coverage of the current Chelsea manager tends to lurch misguidedly from one extreme to the other.

However, the Blues have been struggling in the League this season so far and are only 14th at the moment, 12 points away from a place in the top four.

Grant, who took Chelsea to the Champions League final in 2008 and is currently in charge of Ghana, says Mourinho will come good again, given time.

"It is not easy, but I think Jose deserves a chance," Grant told Sky Sports News HQ. "I didn't like when they made him the genius, and I don't like what they are doing to Jose now, saying 'He is useless' or something.

"It is not like this, it is too extreme. He is a good coach but, like any other person, he is facing tough times.

"He needs to show he can handle pressure but don't judge him only by the quality of his interviews when he is under pressure. He is a good coach, a nice guy, and he can get out of it, for sure."

Grant implied that some of Chelsea's problems may stem from complacency within the squad following last season's Premier League title success.

"They need to stop living in the past and saying last season was like this and this," Grant added. "Because then you could also say that two seasons ago was not so great.

"Last season was great for Chelsea, winning the League title, but now they need to see what is the problem, why are top players not performing like they need to play, why the team is not performing like they need to, and find a solution.

"The quality is there, the talent is there. There is no doubt about this."

After a prolific first season with Chelsea, forward Diego Costa has not enjoyed similar success so far this term and tossed his substitutes' bib over his shoulder in the direction of Mourinho in the final moments of the Blues' 0-0 draw with Tottenham on Sunday.

And Grant thinks Mourinho may have given the striker a private dressing-down after the incident.

"It has not been an easy season for Diego Costa," said Grant. "But I did not like his reaction.

"On one hand you want the players to be passionate and want to play, but imagine if all the players took off their shirts and threw them off! I don't think it would be good for the team.

"Publicly, I would not say anything but I would tell him face-to-face what I think of his behaviour and what he needs to do better to play."