HAVE you ever wondered who your real friends are? One man who is getting the chance to find out in this season of goodwill is Jose Mourinho.

Jose at the centre of attention once again

Sorry to bring him up again, especially at a time when he is out of a job (however briefly), but you could hardly expect him to go quietly, could you?

His sacking was in football-speak “by mutual consent” and the exclusive film of a hooded camera-shy passenger being driven away from the Chelsea’s training ground wasn’t even Mourinho after all, but a club official who we wouldn’t recognise if he moved in next door.

Nothing is ever what it seems in football.

So it was left to the Sunday papers to shed some light on the departure of the Special One.

While the now former Chelsea boss promised to stay away from high-profile games and proved the point by turning up at the first televised match on Saturday, the press got to work on taking sides in the second biggest story of the season (Leicester City’s run tops everything else!).

One columnist – Jim Holden of the Sunday Express – stopped short of saying “Good Riddance” but the headline over his take on the story left no doubts about his view: Sacking of disgraceful Mourinho was too late.

The Mail on Sunday’s Oliver Holt was hardly less sympathetic towards the Special One. Blame Mourinho not the players.

Strong stuff that began: “Those who would absolve Jose Mourinho of blame and choose to damn his players instead, argue with good intentions and a generosity of spirit. They grant him a kinder interpretation of his failure than he ever granted any of his many enemies in football.”

There was support among others willing to add their views – though I’m sot sure I can give my support to the Observer’s Daniel Taylor’s frightening suggestion that Mourinho would be a good candidate as the next England manager.

It was an idea supported by the Sunday Mirror’s Andy Dunn.

If ever we needed Roy Hodgson to make a success of Euro 2016, now is the time to show it.

Fortunately, there appears to be more chance of Mourinho’s next appointment only upsetting half of the red half of a major city than half of the entire nation.

However, it is a sad sign of the state of affairs at Old Trafford, for years famous for its long-term planning, that Mourinho is odds-on favourite to follow Louis van Gaal as Manchester United manager.

The United hierarchy have not shown much wisdom since Sir Alex Ferguson left, but they will never get a better chance to put things right by spending what it takes to satisfy every single United fan and get Pep Guardiola on board.

Meanwhile, don’t expect Jose Mourinho to keep a low profile.

THE RFU’s first move in trying to wipe out the memory of England’s miserable World Cup was to sack the coach. Fair enough.

Then it was the turn of his assistants to be shown the door by new boss, Australian Eddie Jones. Again, fair enough.

Even the thought of finding a new captain to replace Chris Robshaw was only to be expected. But the idea that he should be replaced by Dylan Hartley crosses the line.

Hartley, a hooker of some note, missed the last World Cup because the coach considered him a risk not worth taking. Hartley has been banned for a total of 54 weeks for eye-gouging, head-butting and biting.

If that is the history and pedigree of captain material than rugby union is clearly living down to its growing reputation as a badly-behaved sport (the words of former Welsh number eight Eddie Butler).

COMING second is never the most satisfying result, but Leeds Rhinos’ Kevin Sinfield could not have done better on Sunday night.

Tennis star and Davis Cup hero Andy Murray was a shoe-in for BBC Sports Personality of the Year.