Jose Mourinho has always been an interesting study of the human condition. If there’s one thing you can say about him it is that he doesn’t like to hide. In fact Jose epitomises the condition known as small man syndrome, using the media to try to make himself look the ‘Big Man’ that he wishes he was physically.

The thing is, however, while Mourinho continues to eat up millions of print lines weekly, those who consider this just normal end of season banter or even mind games may be missing something more sinister.

Mourinho’s outbursts have become increasingly more frequent and less rational. With each passing day he reveals a bit more emotion, a bit less control and an increasing amount of anger and frustration.

Harmless, I’ve heard some say, but is it really? Some suggest that Mourinho is trying to take pressure off his players but how so? Every match now is a pressure situation. Players amuse themselves in various ways leading up to matches and individuals react differently to game situations but in reality a manager ranting in between times in the media isn’t going to change this.

What does John Terry think when asked if he agrees with his manager that Chelsea never get penalties and Manchester United are favoured by referees? A competent professional like Terry would rather stick with the football issues and not have to dodge these types of bullets. If anything Mourinho is upping the pressure on his team.

Mourinho is guilty of over stepping the mark many times this season. The outrageous attack on Stephen Hunt of Reading for the Peter Cech incident. Guilty unless proven innocent was Mourinho’s approach and while Hunt was fully vindicated and never found guilty of anything, Mourinho unashamedly heaped pressure on a young kid at the start of his career. The claim that the injury to Cudicini was deliberate also only undermined Mourinho’s credibility and along with the rant about the ambulance delay and associated medical facts (all later proven to be incorrect) Mourinho gave the greatest display yet of his ability to let facts go out the window when he gets emotional.

There were other notable high points like the whole Andy Jonhston diving affair, another spat where the only thing that dived was Mourinho’s credibility. If you’ve followed the season you don’t need to be reminded of every Mourinho incident.

No need to rehash the whole penalty debate either other than to say that Mourinho’s last salvo in this tirade was to claim after the CL semi-final with Liverpool last week that Chelsea were denied a blatant penalty, while video evidence showed that the hand ball in question was both accidental AND outside the box. Further proof that, when he gets into an emotional state, Mourinho ignores the facts or refuses to accept what all before him are saying.

None of this is smart, clever or pre meditated. I have seen and heard enough to be convinced that Mourinho does not react with calculated thought but with raw emotion.

As the season has closed in and the pressure mounted on the key contenders, Mourinho’s volume has risen to something close to a shriek as his objectivity has disappeared. Sprinkle on a large dollop of disrespect towards key people in the game and you have a man who is visibly cracking under the pressure.

And the cracks that have appeared in Mourinho now seem to have passed on to his team. A team that last year or even 2 months ago would have been unlikely not to take advantage of the opportunities that the Newcastle and Bolton games presented, have probably blown their chance at the Premiership. You look at the Chelsea players and there appears to be a sense of desperation, dare I say fear, in their eyes.

Mourinho complains about injuries while Ferguson talks about cover players stepping up and proving themselves. While Chelsea look bereft of tactical nous and are trying to rely on pressurising the opposition into submission, United play with style, belief and a demeanor than suggests the type of confidence you need to close out a winning season.

While Chelsea could still win the lot and United nothing, I believe Mourinho and Ferguson have fundamentally affected the psychology of their teams in recent days and Ferguson has won hands down.

As Jose has continued to throw his toys out of the pram at every opportunity lately, there is just a suspicion that with those same toys he may have thrown out Chelsea’s bottle!