Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon says manager Jose Mourinho makes the club tick.

Kenyon said: "What we have been doing over the last three-and-a-half or four years is building a foundation to take the club onward and upward. I think that was the job from day one and it has continued.

"I think this season is the culmination of not just this close season but what has been put in place over the last three-and-a-half.

"If you look at the history of the Premier League that has to tell you something. Ferguson, Wenger, Mourinho, apart from being terrific managers they are there for a period of time - a long time in Alex's case - and they have built and developed the club and the players and everything around it. Personally I think that stability is critical to the success."

While the Chelsea supremo admits the club must consider life beyond Mourinho, he believes such a scenario will not be a concern for the foreseeable future.

Kenyon, speaking to ChelseaTV, added: "I think our job is to make sure there is a core part of Chelsea irrespective of the manager that remains.

"As much as when I first sat down with Jose and we talked about a long-term plan for Chelsea and where we wanted to be you do have to reach a point naturally where it doesn't go on forever. We are not even thinking about that right now.

"I think what we are doing is looking at how Jose builds on what we have done in the last three years for the next several and there is still lots of work to be done."