Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has lavished praise on the club's fans after their showing in the Blues' Champions League victory over Dynamo Kiev.
Willian's late free kick saw the London side take all three points at Stamford Bridge, moving above Dynamo into second spot in Group G in the process.
It was reported this week that Mourinho, whose position came under pressure following his team's 3-1 home defeat to Liverpool, would not be sacked by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich for as long as the fans backed the Portuguese manager.
Mourinho was effusive in his praise of the supporters following the victory over Kiev, noting that it cannot have been easy being a Chelsea fan during their recent poor run of form.
"The moment I came back to the club, the way stadium welcomed me was amazing, but not comparable to today," the 52-year-old told reporters in his post-match press conference.
"Today is a moment when results are not good. You are asking for my head. Fans see things in the media but it's quite unbelievable what the fans say today. They say to me: 'let him work'. The players show again they want to win.
"It's easy for kids to go to school with a Chelsea shirt when we are winning. They were probably bullied by other kids over the last few weeks."
Chelsea travel to the Britannia Stadium to play Stoke City, who recently beat Mourinho's side on penalties in their League Cup clash, on Saturday evening.
Colm Hayes
