I’m staying put: Chelsea boss Mourinho

I’m staying put: Chelsea boss Mourinho

I’m staying put: Chelsea boss Mourinho

Jose Mourinho insists he does not fear
for his Chelsea future and believes he
will be at the club until his current
contract runs out in 2019.
The manager is under growing pressure
after a disastrous run of results and
reports of unrest within his playing
squad.
But speaking ahead of Chelsea’s
Champions League game with Dinamo
Kiev, Mourinho made it clear he expects
to see out the four-year contract he
signed in August.
The manager refused to comment on
whether he had met club owner Roman
Abramovich but when asked how long he
thought he had left in the job, he said: “I
have four years. In this case, three years
and seven months, or something like
that.”
Mourinho dimissed suggestions that the
experience of handling the worst run of
results in his career would make him a
better manager, pointing out his
continuous run of success.
And he gave the example of a message
received from a close friend who
reminded him of his reaction to his first
Champions League triumph in 2004 to
illustrate how long he has been forced to
wait before encountering such a dip.
The manager said: “If I’d only become a
better coach because of bad results, then
I’d be a really bad coach because, in the
last 15 years, I’d never have improved.
“But I try and improve every day,
analyse every detail of my work every
day, preparing sessions, analysing
matches, preparing matches. Every day.
“This is new for me. That’s why I’m a
good one. I’ve not experienced this
before.
– Resisted –
“Yesterday a friend sent me some quotes
of my press conference after the
Champions League final in May 2004. I’d
completely forgotten about it.
“In May 2004 I said that, one day in my
career, bad results would come. I said
that in 2004 after winning the
Champions League final with Porto.
“One day the bad results will come and
I’ll face the bad results with all the same
honesty and dignity that I’m facing now
as a European champions. May 2004.
“So, 11 years later, I resisted well to the
nature of my job and the nature of
football. Eleven years waiting for this. It
took time, but it’s come in a moment
when I’m stable and strong to face it.”
Mourinho – who faces a stadium ban for
this weekend’s visit to Stoke after being
sent to the stands during the defeat at
West Ham – dismissed recent claims
suggesting a player rebellion, insisting
the squad was fully behind him.
He said: “They are giving their best
every minute of every training session.
Giving solidarity in between all of us.
Fantastic personal relationship. Very
good professional relationship.
“They are training always in the limits
of the quality and the effort. And always
with the strong desire to win the next
match, which is what we’re going to try
and do tomorrow.”
He added: “I know (why results have
been poor). No (I can’t tell you) because
I’ll be here a long time. It’s a
combination of factors. Some of them I
can’t, I don’t even want to touch them.
And yes I know.”
Asked if they were football-related, he
said: “Everything is football-related,
right. We don’t want to blame social or
political problems in some corner of the
globe, you don’t want to blame these
aspects or bring these aspects to football
problems. So everything is football-
related, of course.”
The manager confirmed Radamel Falcao
faces an extended spell on the sidelines
after picking up an injury in training.
Mourinho said: “Falcao had, today, an
important injury. Not so important as
the ones he had previously, but an
important muscular injury and he will
be out for a few weeks, so there’s no
point speaking about him. Just to give
you this sad news.”