Ahead of Chelsea’s 2015/2016 UEFA Champions League opener against against Maccabi Tel Aviv, Jose Mourinho has been quizzed by the media.
The Blues have started the season a rather poor note after managing four points from a possible fifteen in their opening five games.
When asked about the mood of his players ahead of Wednesday’s game against Maccabi Tel Aviv, Mourinho said:
“This is a question you keep asking and you should expect the same answer.
“You can have smiles and jokes, it’s a basic answer. When people are not getting success you work for, and I promise you we work hard, people get frustrated.
“It’s sad that it’s like that. It’s so simple to accept that the results are not good because that’s football and every season you have some seasons where teams don’t start well, have a bad result, and it’s so easy to connect that to bad luck, bad injuries. It’s quite sad that people go in other directions to find problems that don’t exist. That’s your problem.
“The only problem we have it that we don’t have good results. We aren’t happy but we know what we are.
“In other clubs, you have to go back two, three, four, five years to remember good results. In our case, you have to go back three months, and three months ago we were the best team in the country, the best manager, best players.
“Can you ask me why some managers can’t be in difficult situations for five, six seven, ten years? I am the current champions of England, why should I be in trouble? I think it’s a good question that you don’t know how to answer.
“I have a squad. I don’t have to play with the same eleven, I can make changes, but I know the consequences of that. If I make a couple of changes in my team, if I take out Azpilicueta, you will say I have a problem with Azpilicueta, if I take out Terry, you will say I have a problem with Terry, if I take out Fabregas, you will say I have a problem with Fabregas.”
The Portuguese manager went berserk when BBC Sports’ Ben Smith asked if he was suffering from the third-season syndrome which has seen him not be at his best in his third seasons at previous clubs.
“Look, my third season – in Porto, I didn’t have a third season. My third season in Inter, I didn’t have a third season. My third season at Chelsea the first time, I won the FA Cup and the Carling Cup, and I played the Champions League semi-finals. My third season in Real Madrid, I won the Super Cup, I lost the cup [Copa del Rey] final, and I went to the Champions League semi-finals. These are my third seasons…,” Mourinho said.
Ben Smith will not budge and so he kept at the third season question and the following conversation ensued:
“Ben Smith : Sure, but you know what I’m getting at…
Jose Mourinho: So click Google, instead of making stupid questions, click Google and try to find.
Ben Smith: Jose, you know what I’m getting at though, don’t you, how important is it for you to build…
Jose Mourinho: No, you spoke about the third season, and I am telling you that the question is stupid, because the third season is what I told you.
Ben Smith: Jose, you know the point of the question…
Jose Mourinho: No, I know the point, the point is that the question is stupid. I am sorry…”
Mourinho also refuted suggestions that his new haircut had anything to do with his team’s form.
