Jose Mourinho fear factor has left Antonio Conte to pick up the pieces at Tottenham

For supporters of Chelsea, Manchester United or Tottenham, Jose Mourinho’s reaction to a costly defeat for his current side might have sounded familiar.

According to an Italian newspaper, Mourinho accused his AS Roma players of “a lack of balls and personality” in the dressing room following last week’s 2-0 loss to his former club, Inter Milan, and advised them to play in the third tier if they are “afraid” of big matches.

Mourinho did not deny the report after the weekend’s 2-2 draw against Sassuolo but claimed his squad had urged him not to change, and took a swipe at the media for asking him about the dressing-room mood.

For most of the winter, Mourinho’s reign at Roma has been steadily unspooling in a well-worn pattern and his rhetoric has become familiar.

He has accused his players of not being good enough and having a weak mentality. He has also played down expectations, saying, for example, that Sassuolo have a stronger squad.

Roma started the season well, with seven wins from Mourinho’s first eight matches, but results and performances have steadily gone south. Their football has been turgid and there are questions about Mourinho’s man-management and tactics.

The low point remains the 6-1 humiliation at the hands of Norwegian side Bodo-Glimt in the Europa Conference League, while other matches have played out in eerily familiar fashion. For Tottenham’s collapse from 3-0 up to draw 3-3 with West Ham last season, see Roma’s 4-3 home defeat by Juventus on January 9, when they conceded three late goals.

Meanwhile, some Roma fans — including the hosts of La Magicast, an English language Roma podcast — have reported a coarsening of the discourse as the fanbase descends into an online culture war.

Mourinho apparently