Mourinho hails maturing Chelsea and sets his sights on league leaders Arsenal

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho says his side are starting show the maturity of title contenders.

And the Portuguese has urged his team to start turning the screw on Premier League leaders Arsenal.

Despite falling behind after 13 seconds, the Stamford Bridge club kept their cool to emerge victorious against Southampton.

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Mourinho said: 'It's the sign of a team that's going step by step, understanding my ideas and mentality progressively.

'And the ones that are not complete in my mentality or philosophy are adapting progressively, feeling the responsibility that Chelsea cannot be completely out of the title race in December.

'They must feel the responsibility to play for Chelsea and that was a sign of maturity today.  

'Losing a goal after 10 seconds, they kept calm. I think my team is a team with a profile that means I can't establish targets: to say I want to win five consecutive matches, or be top of the league.  

'I want to work with them, feed the young players, feed the team. And, by the time we've done that, we're there.

'If you are 10 or 12 points behind, you are building but not fighting for the title. If you are three or four or five, you are evolving, building but also fighting for the title.