"If Mourinho doesn't win it in the first year, he always wins it in the second year."

Ex-Chelsea winger Damien Duff firmly believes that you cannot look past Chelsea this season to win the Premier League because it's Mourinho's second season back at Chelsea.

Duff who is spending the last moments of his career out in Australia has been talking of Mourinho and Chelsea and backs them as firm favourites for this seasons title. He has been quick to point out that if you look back in recent seasons at Porto, Inter Milan and Real Madrid, Jose Mourinho had his most successful campaign in his second season as Manager.

He said:

"Obviously Chelsea are firm favourites. If [Jose] Mourinho doesn't win it in the first year, he always wins it in the second year. I don't think you can really look beyond them.

They obviously had a good, strong win [against Burnley]."

Now Duffer's quote has got me thinking. I wanted to take a look back at the facts. Jose Mourinho's second seasons at clubs have always been his most spectacular, with one exception: his first stint at Chelsea. He can now rectify that.

FC Porto

First season: Portuguese League, Portuguese Cup, Uefa Cup

Second season: Portuguese League, Champions League

Chelsea

First season: Premier League, League Cup

Second season: Premier League

Internazionale

First season: Italian League

Second season: Italian League, Italian Cup, Champions League

Real Madrid

First season: Spanish Cup

Second season: Spanish league

If you cast your minds back to last season, when the Press scoffed at Mourinho stating that we were not real title contenders, Mourinho also stated:

"Next season will be better. Everything is coming to us. I can imagine – more than imagine, believe, really – that we are going to have a really strong team, starting from day one with everybody."

In response to that quote from the manager, you have to look at us now and realise just how strong we have become this season. He always looks at the holes in the squad, at the players that do not fit the way he wants his squad to be and brings in players to fit seamlessly into his style.

Can Chelsea's second season under Mourinho be better than the first? History tells you it will but only time will tell!