Every Club Has A Time Of Diminishing Return
Chelsea boss Mourinho preparing for Dynamo clash as pressure mounts
- In SPORT
- November 1, 2015
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It appears to be business as usual for under pressure Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Dynamo Kiev at Stamford Bridge.
Mourinho’s position is coming under increasing scrutiny after Saturday’s 3-1 home defeat to Liverpool, with some national newspapers — including the Sun — citing sources that he has just two matches left to save his job.
He spent 15 minutes discussing the team’s plight with his coaching staff on the pitch as the players did their warm-down on Saturday afternoon.
The struggling Premier League champions take on Dynamo knowing they need three points or they could face a battle to get out of what looked to be a straight-forward Champions League group.
Chelsea are behind Porto and Dynamo in Group G and need a win to kick-start their campaign.
They then head to Stoke City on Saturday, where they lost on penalties in the Capital One Cup last week.
Mourinho was handed a vote of confidence from the club’s hierarchy on Oct. 5, in the wake of a home loss to Southampton. The caveat was that results had to improve, but Chelsea have won one of their five games since and the defeat to Liverpool was almost a carbon copy of the reverse against the Saints.
Abramovich has wielded the managerial axe with regularity when a place in the Premier League’s top four and qualification for the Champions League has been in danger.
Chelsea are 15th after six losses in the opening 11 games — 10 points behind fourth-placed Manchester United — and the question is whether Abramovich will show patience with Mourinho, the most successful manager in the club’s history.
But Mourinho looks set to continue into the Champions League clash with Kiev at least as he previewed the game on Chelsea TV.
“It’s a big game. It’s a game that we cannot lose,” Mourinho said. “We still can finish first, second or third and obviously we want to finish in the top two.”
Mourinho said he could not fault the effort of his players after being beaten by Liverpool.
“There are things that are out of our hands. The players tried. You could feel, and not just because we scored in the first couple of minutes, the attitude, desire,” he said. “It was 50-50 despite the fact we were winning 1-0.
“There were two minutes of added time [in the first half] and we conceded the goal after two minutes and 35 seconds.
“What happened in the second half was a consequence of crucial moments, moments that the stadium saw, and more than just see it, the players felt it. From then what happened was just a consequence.”
Mourinho was delighted that the fans were still singing his name as a show of support.
“I take comfort but what feeds me is not just the support of the fans, but the recognition of our work, and that is by getting results,” he added. “I have some players really sad in the dressing room and I’m full of respect for them.”
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