Six months into his second reign as Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has been taking stock.
The Portuguese returned to Stamford Bridge in June, just under six years after his first stint in charge of the club came to an end. Our manager believes his career, which has taken in hugely successful spells in Portugal, England, Italy and Spain, is only now starting to reach its pinnacle, rendering any claims that he might feel under pressure in the job futile.
‘I came back here to give my best knowing that this team and this squad wouldn’t be ready to achieve what people probably think we have to achieve,’ Mourinho noted.
‘I always thought my job this time would be a completely different job profile. I know what I was told in my contacts with Chelsea before we decided to work together again. I am the one who puts pressure on myself, so when you are that kind of personality I don’t think you need to be worried about anything else.
‘I am the kind of guy that year after year, title after title I don’t change. I have a lot of maturity so after a defeat or a bad result, fragility or pressure doesn’t arrive.
‘I’m at probably the best moment of my career,’ Mourinho concluded.
‘I am still a young manager but I already have years of experience. Nothing is new to me in football; everything that happens looks like déjà vu.’
One topic that has engulfed the world of football in the past few days is match-fixing, and Mourinho, who had left Portugal by the time the ‘Golden Whistle’ scandal in that country erupted, was quick to express his disgust at the latest allegations.
‘When there is smoke people think there is fire, and people are going to try to find the fire. I don’t like the smoke, I only like the fire, which is the truth.
‘For me, it’s shocking. This has happened in almost every area of society, starting in the most important one, which is politics. They run our lives and all over the world you find it. It’s very difficult to say there is a completely clean professional area.
‘When it comes to football it comes to my job, and that is when I don’t like it. Here hopefully we find the truth and if there was match-fixing people have to be very strong to try to kill because I hate it.’
– Jose Mourinho speaking to Chelsea TV about today’s game versus Southampton can be viewed now via the channel’s online access.
From 3pm, join Ben Andrews and Jason Cundy for Pre-Match at the Bridge on Chelsea TV, as the duo bring you all the build-up ahead of the game as well as an interview with Jose Mourinho.
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