New Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho has told Ghana star Micahel Essien and his Blues team-mates he will not tolerate the club's image being tarnished by race rows and off-field incidents like it was last term.
Last season when Mourinho was coaching Real Madrid, Chelseaââ¬â¢s image was battered senseless by one unsavoury Ãincident after another.
If it has not been High Court Ãracism cases involving skipper John Terry, it has been front page headlines surrounding his and other team-matesââ¬â¢ extra-marital affairs.
And if it has not been Terry being stripped of the England captaincy â⬓ TWICE â⬓ it has been fellow Three Lions ace Ashley Cole causing mayhem with an air rifle at the training ground or sending abusive tweets attacking the FA.
To the outsider it Ãappears the team who cannot stop winning? silverware?every year are equally Ãincapable of Ãbehaving in an Ãacceptable manner.
Yet, listening to Mourinho, you sense that is set to change.
Whether or not you Ãbelieve his pledge that he is a Ãreformed character, his Ãmessage on maintaining dressing room discipline is deadly serious.
And it is one he will deliver to his multi-millionaire stars that includes Essien on the first day of Ãpre-season. Just as he has done wherever his talents have taken him.
Mourinho, 50, said: ââ¬ÅI say the same thing with every club I go to and I will say the same when I meet the players here on July 8.
ââ¬ÅSome of the boys have heard this before from me but there is a sentence I always say first.
ââ¬ÅIf you are a top professional, if you are not a selfish person, if you put the club in front of yourself and if you are here to work 100 per cent â⬓ for me, for your fellow Ãplayers and for the club â⬓ weââ¬â¢ll have a wonderful relationship.
ââ¬ÅBut if youââ¬â¢re selfish, if you donââ¬â¢t care about the club, you donââ¬â¢t care about the fans and donââ¬â¢t care about image, then we are in big trouble.
ââ¬ÅSo it depends on them if the Ãrelationship is fantastic or not Ãfantastic. Itââ¬â¢s down to players and itââ¬â¢s all about respect.ââ¬
That might be easier said than done. When Mourinho first Ãarrived, ÃTerry and Co had not won Ãanything. Now their Ãpower has grown with every trophy collected. No fewer than EIGHT coaches have been hired and fired in the meantime.
Mourinhoââ¬â¢s great friend, Sir Alex Ferguson, reckons managerial Ãinstability at a club serves only to increase the Ãinfluence of the Ãmodern-day, mega-rich footballer.
The Happy One, as he now likes to be called, does not disagree. But as long as he has the clubââ¬â¢s Ãbacking he is Ãconfident of stamping out the rebels.
ââ¬ÅWhat Sir Alex says in Ãrelation to English football is Ãdoctrine, itââ¬â¢s the Bible,â⬠said the ex-Real Madrid, Inter and Porto boss.
ââ¬ÅIf he says that, with so many yearsââ¬â¢ experience, heââ¬â¢s Ãcorrect. Does it Ãrelate to this club? I donââ¬â¢t know.
ââ¬ÅSometimes you have groups that adapt Ãeasily.?Sometimes thereââ¬â¢s a couple of guys who are not so keen to accept these rules and this is where you have Ãproblematic Ãrelationships.
ââ¬ÅIf the club supports the Ãmanager, the little guys areâ⬦ââ¬
Mourinho did not need to finish the Ãsentence â⬓ ââ¬Ëgonersââ¬â¢ was the missing word.
And those wondering if his Ãrelationship with Ãowner Roman Abramovich will be as solid second time around need not bother.
Mourinho added: ââ¬ÅNever in my time did Roman try to interfere in the basic things of the manager â⬓ training sessions, team selection or in the players that you want to bring in to the club. Never.ââ¬