The Fulham boss is convinced Mourinho's proud nature was always going to make him vulnerable to a fall-out with club owner Roman Abramovich.

Abramovich's recruitment of his superstar friend Andriy Shevchenko at the start of last season was believed to be a major factor in the rift that developed with Mourinho.

Sanchez, whose side takes on their neighbours at Stamford Bridge next week, said: "At the top level now and certainly when you are at the bigger clubs, you have to manage upwards as well as downwards.

"Just saying 'I get results and I can do as I like' doesn't work now. A lot of people want to pick the team now and a lot of people have influence.

"So not only has the manager got to get results on a Saturday he has also got to manage the people with expectations above him who are employing him. Just saying 'I want nothing to do with that' is not good enough and puts them off.

"We have seen (Fabio) Capello leave Real Madrid after winning the title so results on the field are not the be all and end all at the top of the game any more. There are a lot of factors they have to deal with. That makes the job even more difficult than it has ever been."

Fulham have their own high-profile chairman in the shape of Mohamed Al Fayed but Sanchez was adamant he had no Mourinho-style problems with the Harrods owner.

He said: "He has put $500million into the club so that is a big input but with regards to my position and the selection of the team he has none. We have meetings and talk about the players and what I am trying to do but he has given me a free rein.

"He put the money up in the summer but didn't tell me who to spend it on. In that respect he has been very good."