English Premier League: Mourinho ‘not worried’ despite poor run
Chelsea manager plays down talk of crisis ahead of Fulham clash today.
The loss to Basel ended Chelsea’s run of 29 home Champions League games without defeat. PHOTO: REUTERS
LONDON:
Jose Mourinho finds himself in the unexpected position of attempting to turn around Chelsea’s alarming early dip when Fulham make the short trip to Stamford Bridge today.
Successive defeats by Everton and Basel have prompted some soul-searching at Chelsea with Mourinho claiming his squad’s lack of experience has been exposed.
Having started the campaign positively with the hard-earned point at Manchester United following on from victories over Hull and Aston Villa, Chelsea have since lost the European Super Cup on penalties to Bayern Munich before the latest painful defeats.
Without a win in four games and with goals proving hard to come by, the meeting with west London neighbours Fulham has taken on more significance, particularly given the Cottagers’ record of have drawn on their last three visits to Stamford Bridge.
Mourinho has called for patience from the supporters of the club as he looks to implement an all-new attack-minded philosophy at Stamford Bridge.
“Scrutiny is normal,” he said. “I’m not surprised, I’m not worried. I have a job to do. I know where I want to go and I know the steps I have to give.
“The easiest thing for a new manager is to arrive in a club, not to change, and to go in the same direction. If you want to do something different there is a period [of transition]. I understand that if the results are not good, people put some question marks in my direction.
“But if you like to make comparisons, you have to wait because it’s not the way you start, it’s the way you finish.”
The former Inter Milan coach said that he is determined to change Chelsea’s approach.
“I don’t like the way Chelsea has been playing in the last couple of years and the club doesn’t either,” he said. “We want to change, to play a different style. The past is history.”
Liverpool boss Rodgers wary of title talk
Liverpool will remain top of the Premier League with a win over Southampton at the weekend but manager Brendan Rodgers feels it is still far too soon to discuss a potential title challenge.
The Reds have 10 points from their first four Premier League matches, with 1-0 wins over Stoke, Aston Villa and Manchester United and a 2-2 draw at Swansea.
After Southampton’s visit to Anfield, Liverpool face a run of games against Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Newcastle and West Bromwich Albion before travelling to Arsenal on November 2.
They also have Luis Suarez set to return from a 10-match suspension for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic when they head to Manchester United in the League Cup on Wednesday.
Rodgers feels it will only be possible to judge his team’s prospects for the season once they’ve played their 10th game of the campaign at Arsenal.
Asked about Liverpool’s chances of a push for a first title since 1990, Rodgers said: “I haven’t even considered that at all. Our expectation is to improve as a team.
“We’ll assess it after 10 games and then at the halfway point and we’ll have a more realistic idea of where we can be.
“There’s a lot more to come. We’ve made a good start and people will say that it’s early stages, as will I, but these are still hurdles you have to get over.
“We’re on 10 points already and at the end of last season we finished on 61 points and we talked about those extra 10 points that might have taken us into the Champions League.
“At this early stage we’ve got them. I believe the team has still got a lot of improving, only because of the nature of what I’ve seen in the games and the potential we have in the players still to grow.”
Southampton were the last side to beat the league leaders, winning 3-1 at St Mary’s in March.
Since that day Liverpool have gone 12 Premier League matches without defeat but Saints have struggled, winning only one of their last 10 league games, scoring just five times and not finding the net from open play at all this season.
Today’s fixtures
Chelsea v Fulham
Liverpool v Soton
Newcastle v Hull City
Norwich v Aston Villa
West Brom v Sunderland
West Ham v Everton
Published in The Express Tribune, September 21st, 2013.
Jose Mourinho finds himself in the unexpected position of attempting to turn around Chelsea’s alarming early dip when Fulham make the short trip to Stamford Bridge today.
Successive defeats by Everton and Basel have prompted some soul-searching at Chelsea with Mourinho claiming his squad’s lack of experience has been exposed.
Having started the campaign positively with the hard-earned point at Manchester United following on from victories over Hull and Aston Villa, Chelsea have since lost the European Super Cup on penalties to Bayern Munich before the latest painful defeats.
Without a win in four games and with goals proving hard to come by, the meeting with west London neighbours Fulham has taken on more significance, particularly given the Cottagers’ record of have drawn on their last three visits to Stamford Bridge.
Mourinho has called for patience from the supporters of the club as he looks to implement an all-new attack-minded philosophy at Stamford Bridge.
“Scrutiny is normal,” he said. “I’m not surprised, I’m not worried. I have a job to do. I know where I want to go and I know the steps I have to give.
“The easiest thing for a new manager is to arrive in a club, not to change, and to go in the same direction. If you want to do something different there is a period [of transition]. I understand that if the results are not good, people put some question marks in my direction.
“But if you like to make comparisons, you have to wait because it’s not the way you start, it’s the way you finish.”
The former Inter Milan coach said that he is determined to change Chelsea’s approach.
“I don’t like the way Chelsea has been playing in the last couple of years and the club doesn’t either,” he said. “We want to change, to play a different style. The past is history.”
Liverpool boss Rodgers wary of title talk
Liverpool will remain top of the Premier League with a win over Southampton at the weekend but manager Brendan Rodgers feels it is still far too soon to discuss a potential title challenge.
The Reds have 10 points from their first four Premier League matches, with 1-0 wins over Stoke, Aston Villa and Manchester United and a 2-2 draw at Swansea.
After Southampton’s visit to Anfield, Liverpool face a run of games against Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Newcastle and West Bromwich Albion before travelling to Arsenal on November 2.
They also have Luis Suarez set to return from a 10-match suspension for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic when they head to Manchester United in the League Cup on Wednesday.
Rodgers feels it will only be possible to judge his team’s prospects for the season once they’ve played their 10th game of the campaign at Arsenal.
Asked about Liverpool’s chances of a push for a first title since 1990, Rodgers said: “I haven’t even considered that at all. Our expectation is to improve as a team.
“We’ll assess it after 10 games and then at the halfway point and we’ll have a more realistic idea of where we can be.
“There’s a lot more to come. We’ve made a good start and people will say that it’s early stages, as will I, but these are still hurdles you have to get over.
“We’re on 10 points already and at the end of last season we finished on 61 points and we talked about those extra 10 points that might have taken us into the Champions League.
“At this early stage we’ve got them. I believe the team has still got a lot of improving, only because of the nature of what I’ve seen in the games and the potential we have in the players still to grow.”
Southampton were the last side to beat the league leaders, winning 3-1 at St Mary’s in March.
Since that day Liverpool have gone 12 Premier League matches without defeat but Saints have struggled, winning only one of their last 10 league games, scoring just five times and not finding the net from open play at all this season.
Today’s fixtures
Chelsea v Fulham
Liverpool v Soton
Newcastle v Hull City
Norwich v Aston Villa
West Brom v Sunderland
West Ham v Everton
Published in The Express Tribune, September 21st, 2013.