Jose Mourinho has revealed that giving his players the silent treatment at half time inspired Chelsea to a rousing second-half display in Saturday's 3-1 win over Fulham.

Following a goalless first half at Craven Cottage, the Blues emerged from the interval reinvigorated and ran out comfortable winners courtesy of an Andre Schurrle hat-trick.

"I didn't say a word at half time. Normally I give the players two or three minutes to clean or change shirts and boots, and after that they know I start talking," he told the club's official website.

"They were there ready for me and I was not ready for them, so I decided not to speak because if I started talking about the half, I need more than the 10 minutes.

"They showed that they are very intelligent because without words they understood. They could transform a poor first half into a fantastic second half."

Mourinho's side opened up a four-point lead at the summit of the Premier League table with the win.