Jose: I'll not face the sack
Jose Mourinho claims his job at Chelsea is safe even if the champions finish mid-table in the Barclays Premier League.
|||London - Jose Mourinho claims his job at Chelsea is safe even if the champions finish mid-table in the Barclays Premier League.
Mourinho has convinced himself that he is protected by his four-year contract and insists he still has the total support of the Chelsea board following their disastrous start.
Chelsea’s manager spoke with owner Roman Abramovich shortly after the shock 3-1 defeat by Southampton at home in their last fixture before the international break.
Abramovich then went in to a board meeting to discuss Mourinho’s future before the club issued a statement confirming their backing. Asked if he will still be manager if they finish mid-table, Mourinho replied ‘yes’. He added: ‘For me the important thing is the owner and the board’s message to myself, and before the statement came out, I was having the feedback from the owner and the board.
‘Obviously we know, in a couple of months, we will be in a position we normally have to be. But the reality now, today, tomorrow, before the game starts, is the reality of the numbers, and the numbers are very cruel but objective. We need points.
‘So the statement was not something new for me. That support I’d got before. Why did the statement come out? Maybe to close you off. Maybe to stop the rumour that I could be on my way out because the support to myself was not made by the statement, but by a normal conversation.
‘I met the owner before dinner so, when I went to dinner, I knew (I was staying). But even before that, I knew what brought me here. I know the conversation we had two years ago. I knew what made me sign a new contract, and the reasons the owner and board decided to give me a new contract. They didn’t have to. I still had two years, so they didn’t have to give me a new contract. So what I know is what I know from them.’
Mourinho also confirmed that he will appeal against the decision of the FA’s independent regulatory commission to fine him £50,000 and give him a suspended one-match stadium ban for his comments after the defeat against Southampton.
Chelsea’s manager has studied the written reasons, which are expected to be published by the FA next week, and is convinced that he has become a special case.
He said: ‘I want to appeal because I disagree totally, and not just partially, but totally with the decision. It’s obviously my decision.’
Diego Costa returns from a ban as Chelsea face Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge today and Mourinho saluted the Brazilian for admitting that he returned from the close season break in poor physical condition.
Mourinho said: He’s an honest guy. I think it was the consequence of a difficult last third of the season: suspension, injury, re-injury, not playing, disappointment, not participating in the best period of the season.
‘Go on holiday, go to Brazil. The food is much better than here. He stays there at home and comes back in bad condition.
‘He could say or use many excuses for our bad moment. He chose himself and his condition as one of the factors. So, respect.’
Daily Mail