Chelsea goalkeeper Asmir Begovic has hailed Jose Mourinho as the best manager in the world, despite the club's struggles so far this season.

The Premier League champions currently sit 16th in the table having made their worst start to a season for 37 years, leading to speculation over the Portuguese boss's future at Stamford Bridge.

Antonio Conte and Diego Simeone have both been linked to the post, but Begovic believes that Mourinho's presence is "the only comforting thing" about the team's current predicament.

"He's not happy, of course. He doesn't want to lose. He wouldn't have won all the trophies he has, and become the best manager in the world, to be happy with how things are going," Begovic is quoted as saying by The Guardian.

"But at the same time he has kept calm, tried to keep things on the ground, make sure we don't feel sorry for ourselves, and pick things up. It's a long season, we know in football these things happen, even to the best teams; we need to keep fighting and hopefully things will turn for us, our performances and our luck.

"That's the only comforting thing: we have the best manager in the world. We believe in him and he believes in us. We will turn things around."

Chelsea host fellow strugglers Aston Villa on Saturday looking to avoid falling to a third consecutive defeat in all competitions.