Along with Petr Cech, only Terry, Lampard and Cole remain at Stamford Bridge from Mourinho’s first spell in charge at the club. They were instrumental in Mourinho becoming the Blues’ most successful manager – he won six trophies in his first spell as manager including two Premier League titles.

Lampard and Terry were not first-choice starters under Rafael Benitez last season. But, the arrival of Mourinho has led to a renaissance in their form, especially Terry, who is now the first-choice centre-back at the club.

However, the trio are not getting any younger and are out of contract at the end of the season. Lampard and Cole were offered one year-extensions to their deals last season, whereas this is the first time Terry finds himself with just six months remaining on his Chelsea deal.

Speaking ahead of Chelsea’s Premier League encounter against Crystal Palace, Mourinho was calm over the issue of their contracts and said the situation ‘does not worry’ him or the players. According to ESPN, all three are in line to be offered new deals at the end of the season, or even before that.

Mourinho said, “It’s a situation that doesn’t worry me, doesn’t worry the club and, I think, doesn’t worry the players. Their desire to play for this club, nobody has doubts about it. We want them to feel free to express and to enjoy these last years of their careers.”

“Everything is very calm and at the end of the season, probably before that, the club will sit with them, the offer will be on the table.”

Mourinho also admitted that handling their contracts proved to be tricky last season. Terry was not playing regularly and was heavily linked with a move to Galatasaray. Even Lampard was sparingly used and was linked with a move to MLS. Although Cole was offered a new deal in January, Lampard had to wait till nearly the end of the season before he signed an extension.

He said, “Probably last season was more complicated. John was not playing, Lampard was almost signing a contract with LA Galaxy and he was not also feeling important in the team. In this moment the situation is very, very clear. They trust the club, we trust the players. And, for sure, without conflict, the best decision for us and for them will be taken.”

Lampard was an almost certainty to leave since he was not offered a deal like Cole but put in some impressive performances towards the end of the season to convince the management to change their decision. He even became Chelsea’s record goal scorer after which he signed the one-year extension.

And Mourinho has now revealed the advice he gave the 35-year-old as a friend. He said, “At that time I was Real Madrid manager, not Chelsea manager, and I gave my opinion. Just my opinion, as a friend at that time”

“The opinion was to wait. Trust yourself, wait, play. If somebody has doubts, try to show in the last part of the season how important you still can be for the club and do what you really want to do. If you want to stay wait, because probably you are going to stay. If, at the end of the day, you are not staying, you are free to decide.”