Certainly it represents a pretty seismic gamble, but one Mourinho simply had to take, even at this early stage of the season.
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Chelsea had made their worst start to a top-flight season since 1978-79, prompting the club to issue a vote of confidence in Mourinho amid reports of a dressing room mutiny. Far from it. But I never felt about it’. “But we can not run away from the reality of the table”, he said.
Yet Mourinho had been convinced that short-term attitude no longer persisted in his initial talks with Abramovich and the director Marina Granovskaia over a potential return to Stamford Bridge two years ago.
The 27-year-old Serb was substituted 15 minutes into the second half of the defeat by Southampton, having only come on at half-time.
The competition in the Premier League means Chelsea could miss out on the top four this term, as Manchester United and Liverpool have done in recent seasons.
“I have to be honest with myself so I have to appeal”, he told a news conference on Friday, a day after calling the punishment “an absolute disgrace”.
Mourinho, who called for the media to “go deep” in examining his fractious relationship with the FA, added: “There is something that, now, we know”.
The 31-year-old suffered a hamstring injury while on global duty with Serbia and will be out until the end of the month.
A seething Jose Mourinho has rounded on the FA for perceived inconsistencies in its disciplinary process following the ban and fine the Chelsea boss picked up after defeat to Saints.
“Somebody can be Chelsea, Liverpool, Man United, Man City, Arsenal”.
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.
“But they showed their desire, that they are together and that there were ready to fight for a crucial result”.
“A team that the manager is trying to rebuild having lost probably their two most important players of the team (Christian Benteke and Fabian Delph)”, he said.
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“I think it was a outcome of a bad approach, but also the effect of a hard last third of the season: suspension; injury; re-injury; not playing; disappointment; not participating in the best period of the season, when you become champions”. The food is much better than here. He could say or use many excuses for our bad moment.
