Jose Mourinho has a strong desire to secure the league title this season for those at Chelsea yet to experience such success.
The Blues manager is of course a serial winner of championships having finished top of the pile in four European countries, including England in 2005 and 2006 during his first spell at Stamford Bridge. With his team able to add a third Premier League to their manager’s collection should they beat Crystal Palace today, Mourinho has put into context where that would sit with the previous triumphs.
‘The titles in Portugal were big because Porto was coming from a very difficult moment, finishing fifth the season before when in Portugal in the last 20 years, the title was normally shared by two teams [Porto and Benfica].
‘In Spain it was fantastic because that was a period of real dominance by Barcelona, and Real Madrid had to do it with 100 points and we had to win in Barcelona’s stadium near the end of the season.
‘The ones in Chelsea were fantastic because it was the beginning of Mr Abramovich’s era with no title before that. Now, for me, it is a great feeling because it is my club, because of the league and because we are not any more the rich club. We are a top club but a club that lives from the work everyone does in this club.
‘It would mean a lot because we have lots of young players and it would be the first title for them, people that don’t know what it is to be a champions, so I want this one a lot and if we clinch the title, at that moment I will be much more happy for them than for myself.’
Mourinho will also be pleased if Chelsea do complete the task as he knows where silverware such as this can lead.
‘When they have the taste of success, the big players want more. There are people who are happy with just one victory but the big ones don’t get tired of winning. So I hope really that these players get a good taste which is maybe why the Capital One Cup was important for the group. We won a trophy and enjoyed Wembley, enjoyed the happiness of the supporters.’
No one at Chelsea is taking anything for granted however, especially as today’s opposition is a side managed by one of the few Premier League managers in Alan Pardew to have won games against a Chelsea side managed by Mourinho.
‘I have experience of his Newcastle when it was one thing for them to play against Chelsea and one thing to play against other teams,’ notes the Blues boss.
‘Maybe it because Alan is a Chelsea fan. He told me a lot of times that as a kid he was born near and he grew up as a Chelsea fan, but obviously he is a professional and he wants to win.
‘The reality is that when Alan’s teams play against Chelsea, they play a different match, so I am waiting for that, I am waiting for a Palace going with everything.’
Looking briefly beyond the climax to this season, part of the reason why Mourinho has used the fewest number of players of any Premier League club this season is the relatively early exit from the Champions League. That prevented a schedule as testing as two fixtures against the likes of Barcelona mixed in with our big domestic encounters with Manchester United and Arsenal.
As plans are put in place for next season with the aim of going further in Europe while staying top of the league, he anticipates new additions.
‘We need a couple of players to give more strength in depth to the squad. With some of the young boys we have, I have said already that Ruben Loftus-Cheek will be a Chelsea squad player but the others after a fantastic year of preparation for them, training with us, playing with the young people, probably for them the next good step will be to go on loan and to be replaced by two players.
‘We keep the same number of players because we don’t want more than that, but we keep a more uniform group in terms of experience, to give us that little extra in case we progress in the Champions League.’
The Blues manager is of course a serial winner of championships having finished top of the pile in four European countries, including England in 2005 and 2006 during his first spell at Stamford Bridge. With his team able to add a third Premier League to their manager’s collection should they beat Crystal Palace today, Mourinho has put into context where that would sit with the previous triumphs.
‘The titles in Portugal were big because Porto was coming from a very difficult moment, finishing fifth the season before when in Portugal in the last 20 years, the title was normally shared by two teams [Porto and Benfica].
‘In Spain it was fantastic because that was a period of real dominance by Barcelona, and Real Madrid had to do it with 100 points and we had to win in Barcelona’s stadium near the end of the season.
‘The ones in Chelsea were fantastic because it was the beginning of Mr Abramovich’s era with no title before that. Now, for me, it is a great feeling because it is my club, because of the league and because we are not any more the rich club. We are a top club but a club that lives from the work everyone does in this club.
‘It would mean a lot because we have lots of young players and it would be the first title for them, people that don’t know what it is to be a champions, so I want this one a lot and if we clinch the title, at that moment I will be much more happy for them than for myself.’
Mourinho will also be pleased if Chelsea do complete the task as he knows where silverware such as this can lead.
‘When they have the taste of success, the big players want more. There are people who are happy with just one victory but the big ones don’t get tired of winning. So I hope really that these players get a good taste which is maybe why the Capital One Cup was important for the group. We won a trophy and enjoyed Wembley, enjoyed the happiness of the supporters.’
No one at Chelsea is taking anything for granted however, especially as today’s opposition is a side managed by one of the few Premier League managers in Alan Pardew to have won games against a Chelsea side managed by Mourinho.
‘I have experience of his Newcastle when it was one thing for them to play against Chelsea and one thing to play against other teams,’ notes the Blues boss.
‘Maybe it because Alan is a Chelsea fan. He told me a lot of times that as a kid he was born near and he grew up as a Chelsea fan, but obviously he is a professional and he wants to win.
‘The reality is that when Alan’s teams play against Chelsea, they play a different match, so I am waiting for that, I am waiting for a Palace going with everything.’
Looking briefly beyond the climax to this season, part of the reason why Mourinho has used the fewest number of players of any Premier League club this season is the relatively early exit from the Champions League. That prevented a schedule as testing as two fixtures against the likes of Barcelona mixed in with our big domestic encounters with Manchester United and Arsenal.
As plans are put in place for next season with the aim of going further in Europe while staying top of the league, he anticipates new additions.
‘We need a couple of players to give more strength in depth to the squad. With some of the young boys we have, I have said already that Ruben Loftus-Cheek will be a Chelsea squad player but the others after a fantastic year of preparation for them, training with us, playing with the young people, probably for them the next good step will be to go on loan and to be replaced by two players.
‘We keep the same number of players because we don’t want more than that, but we keep a more uniform group in terms of experience, to give us that little extra in case we progress in the Champions League.’
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