Mourinho returned to Stamford Bridge for a second spell as manager in June after parting company with Real Madrid.
Chelsea finished third in the Premier League last term, some 14 points behind champions Manchester United.
However, Mourinho, who guided the club to two league titles during his first stint in charge, feels Chelsea are building towards something special.
"The group is good. And the other six boys, who were in the Confederations Cup, when they come, I think they will find something good," he said.
"They will find it and feel it. When people like Juan Mata, Oscar, David Luiz and the rest come they will smell immediately that we are doing something here."
Mourinho has been particularly impressed with the attitudes of the experienced duo of John Terry and Frank Lampard and thinks they are setting the example for the younger players in the squad.
"With my previous players, what I see makes me very happy. I don’t see them any different to before," he added.
"When I see John Terry, Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard, the way they are working at 32 and 35, it’s easy for me to control the group and demand the same from the other guys.
“I can say, ‘Look at them: they don’t miss one minute; they are training like animals; they compete. So you, who are 18, 19, 21, don’t tell me you can’t do it.'"
