Manager surprised by Mourinho exit

One of the most successful members of the Premier League "managers' union" left a hole when he was sacked by Chelsea on Thursday. Jose Mourinho, 52, left the Blues seven months after he led them to their third Premier League title. Chelsea, who finished eight points clear of the rest last season and won the League Cup, have lost nine of their 16 league games so far and are 16th in the table, one point above the relegation places. Mourinho's peers have been giving their thoughts on the Portuguese. Some have been "surprised" by Blues' decision to sack their most successful manager in history. Premier League managers react West Ham's Slaven Bilic: "I can only say about Mourinho that I'm definitely surprised. When you are the best in the business you have many people who would like you to fail. "It's a big loss for the league and Premier League is going to miss him. I really hope he is not lost because we'll miss him a lot. "Nobody knows if Jose would have turned it around. Chelsea are in an uncomfortable situation, but they are not panicking. "I do believe he would have turned it. It's not the only time this happened to a big club. It happened to Borussia Dortmund [under Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp] last season." On rumours that Chelsea players might have intentionally underperformed: "I don't believe any player will deliberately have a bad training, not to mention a bad game. They are top professional players." Bournemouth's Eddie Howe: "I was surprised and disappointed when I heard about Jose Mourinho. It's a sad occasion when anyone loses their job."