Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho aims to nurture his young side through to the knockout stages of the Champions League after making reference to the cracks which appeared prior to his 2007 departure from Stamford Bridge.

Six years to the day since last taking charge of Chelsea in the Champions League, Mourinho’s side host Basle in Group E on Wednesday night.

Mourinho, who famously claimed at the end of his first spell that he was unable to buy the best “eggs,” returned to Chelsea in June assigned with overseeing a developing squad full of potential and he appears intent on tempering expectations.