STOKE-ON-TRENT, United Kingdom: Jose Mourinho enters the international break with his future as Chelsea manager under closer scrutiny than ever before following his team’s 1-0 defeat at Stoke City.

The outspoken Portuguese was not even present at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday as he served a one-match stadium ban for his verbal onslaught on match officials during the recent defeat at West Ham United.

But as he watched Chelsea’s attempts to find an equalizer fizzle out on television at the team hotel, he will have known that two weeks of intense speculation and analysis now await him.

It is the first time in 16 years that Chelsea have lost three consecutive league games and billionaire owner Roman Abramovich has never seen such a sequence in his time as owner of the London club.

The three coaches who stood in for Mourinho — Steve Holland, Silvino Louro and Rui Faria — declined to speak to the media after the game, which left the champions in 16th place after seven defeats in 12 games.

But goalkeeper Asmir Begovic insisted that the club’s players remain firmly behind the 52-year-old Portuguese, as do the supporters who chanted his name throughout the game.

“That is out of our hands. We are behind the manager. You can see that from our performances,” said Begovic when asked about the manager’s future.

“We think he is the right man and someone we work hard for.

“Jose did the pre-match talk at the hotel and that was it. We wanted to get a result for him. His spirit and his presence is always there.”

Mourinho’s opposite number Mark Hughes, whose team knocked Chelsea out of the League Cup in a penalty shoot-out last week, admitted that overseeing a game against a dug-out without a manager was a first for him.

“It’s difficult to say whether it made a difference,” said Hughes. “But it’s a rare occurrence when the opposition manager isn’t standing there. I’ve not experienced it before.”