Chelsea
manager Jose Mourinho said he has no need to motivate his players before a
match against Manchester United, labelling his side’s next opponents as “one
of the biggest clubs in the world”.
The Blues take on United at Stamford Bridge on Saturday live on Sky Sports 1
HD and Mourinho believes the fixture is a special occasion.
Mourinho said he hasn’t needed to find extra motivation for his players in
training this week as the game is one which the supporters want to watch and
the players are desperate to play in.
He said: “To play Manchester United is to play against one of the biggest
clubs in the world and the best teams in the Premier League and I think this
is what everybody wants.
“This week I was not worried about motivating players, or players to be
focussed on the game and the opponent because there is no need. It’s an easy
job.
“It’s a big match. You have to play against everyone home and away. Our
fight is to have the same motivation and ambition, no matter what opponent.
“But the reality is that these matches are the easy ones – the ones where
every player is desperate to play. They are the matches everybody likes.”
Manchester United have injury worries ahead of the trip to Stamford Bridge
with Michael Carrick, Phil Jones, Daley Blind and Marcos Rojo all missing
out.
Chelsea largely have a clean bill of health, with Mourinho saying Loic Remy
is rated at better than 50-50 to play.
The Blues boss also said that Diego Costa is “progressing well” and will
start training with the rest of the squad next week.
He said: “I think he has a chance for the next weekend. But our target was
for Diego to play the last four matches and Arsenal is the sixth match to
the end so if he doesn’t play Arsenal or Leicester it is not a problem as
our focus is on four. But things are going so well that in this moment we
think he has a chance for the next weekend.”
Mourinho praised PFA nominee Eden Hazard ahead of the United fixture, and
also said that he “loves” his squad of players and what they are working
towards.
He said: “We want to win the league, he (Hazard) wants to win the league.
“Obviously, on the top of the collective ambitions, if the player deserves
something special and if it comes from his fellow players I think means a
bit more.
“His objective is to win the league.”
He added: “I love my team, I love my squad and I love the objective we are
fighting for.”
Research from anti-discrimination body Kick It Out showed that Chelsea were
the Premier League club to receive the highest volume of discriminatory
posts this week with 20,000, followed by Liverpool (19,000), Arsenal
(12,000), Manchester United (11,000) and Manchester City (11,000).
And Mourinho believes the Blues are the most abused team in the Premier
League merely because of their success.
"I think because we are boring," said Mourinho, when asked about the
research.
"Top of the league since day one - it's something in this country people
don't like.
"I think everybody would love the Premier League to be like the Championship
at the moment, with four teams separated by a couple of points.
"I know this is the ideal scenario in the Premier League. But since day one
we are there and we are trying not to allow that to happen.
"We have big determination to be champions."
However, Mourinho stayed silent when asked about Chelsea’s disciplinary
record after new figures revealed that his side rate the lowest of the
Premier League teams when it comes to respecting officials.
He said: "You know, I prefer not to answer."
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