Best is yet to come from Chelsea, says Mourinho

LONDON (Reuters) - Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is confident the best is yet to come from a side unbeaten in 12 Premier League matches and showing no signs of taking their foot off the gas.

Chelsea have a six-point advantage over second-placed Southampton and few would predict the title heading anywhere other than Stamford Bridge on

current form.

Mourinho's side beat Schalke 5-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday and the former Real Madrid coach believes his side have not even reached their full potential yet.

"I'm sure there is much more to come," the Portuguese told a news conference on Friday. "It's a young team, with lots of young players.

"I have two more years of contract to work with them, they want to stay, I want to stay. There is a lot ahead of us but this team has all the conditions to be better.

"We were winning 5-0 against Schalke and in the 88th minute, (Eden) Hazard made a sprint to defend.

"They have changed. There is a clear evolution with these people. As a group they can't be complacent."

Chelsea travel to the Stadium of Light on Saturday where they will come up against a Sunderland side that ended Mourinho's 77-game unbeaten home Premier League run after claiming a surprise 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge last April.

Tempers flared during that encounter, with Chelsea aggrieved at a number of refereeing decisions but Mourinho thinks all that will be forgotten on Saturday.

"Was what happened last season complacency? I don't call it that, it was lots of other things," he said. "Lots of water has passed under the bridge since then, so we forget it and move on.

"I believe it's a difficult game with all the dangers that we have in the Premier League."

With Chelsea flying in all competitions, Mourinho has named an unchanged team for the last two matches but the Portuguese coach praised the players who are fighting for starting slots.

"My untouchables now are the ones that are not playing," he said. "They're responsible for a lot of what we are doing.

"Life is easy when you're always playing and winning, feeling high in your esteem.

"Life is difficult when you're not playing because a player is born to play. All these guys in my squad are absolutely fantastic and I'm so happy with them."