Jose Mourinho is like a bullet-proof vest to his players because of his intense desire to shield them from criticism, according to Real Madrid defender Alvaro Arbrloa.

Mourinho is currently in the midst of a crisis at Chelsea, having overseen just three Premier League wins from the club’s opening 10 games of the season, leaving the club languishing in 15th place.

Roman Abramovick is desperate to back his manager, however, despite reports suggesting a defeat to Liverpool on Saturday could see him sacked, and Arbeloa has talked up the Portuguese’s man-management skills.

Mourinho has been criticised in some quarters this season for attempting to invoke a siege mentality at Stamford Bridge – the former Madrid boss embarked on a seven-minute rant following a 3-1 defeat to Southampton – but Arbeloa believes he is mislabelled because of his loyalty to his players.

 “He was like a bullet-proof vest for the players,” Arbeloa told The Independent, remembering Mourinho’s first season in charge at Madrid. “If someone was picked on by the critics he was the first to defend him.

“He fought against the fixture list; against the kick-off times if he thought they went against us; or against a referee if he thought he had been unfair to Real Madrid.

“He fights for the interests of the team without bothering about the fact that in the end his image is damaged because of it – he gets labelled as the moaner.”

A number of senior Chelsea stars have struggled for form, with PFA Player of the Year Eden Hazard, midfielder Cesc Fabregas and striker Diego Costa all notably off the pace in Mourinho’s third season at the club following his return.

 Mourinho also struggled during his third campaign at Real, and Arbeloa admits that poor results often have an adverse effect on the 52-year-old’s wellbeing, while he claims that the Portuguese will give little thought to freezing a player out if they are not performing to their maximum.

“Seeing how hard it had been to get the better of Barcelona and to win La Liga and to then, in a sense, give it away so quickly, Jose didn’t take it at all well,” Arbeloa added.

“He demanded all the time more from us. And when there are a lot of demands, and when in the end there is friction, it wears down the dressing room a bit. I used to see him with dark rings under his eyes and thinking: ‘this guy is not sleeping, he is not relaxing’.”

He added: “He is not able to say: ‘How’s it going? What’s happening? How do you feel?’ to a player who isn’t trying. If he has a player who isn’t giving 100 per cent then he isn’t capable of putting an arm around his shoulder.”