Following FIFA’s fourth and final international break, injuries were a key talking point in Mourinho’s latest press conference on Good Friday: ‘At this moment we have no injuries but Mikel is not selected. He is fine and working with the group but he is tired.’
The fitness of the Premier League’s joint-top goal scorer, Diego Costa, has been a subject of increasing concern amongst Chelsea fans with the next set of fixtures perhaps decisive in the title race. Mourinho was coy regarding his star striker, stating he had trained with the main group over the last few days, but is undecided whether he will start versus Stoke: ‘Diego has dedicated himself to recovering, no days off and working hard. At this moment the muscle is fine.’
With numerous full internationals at a club of Chelsea’s stature, fatigue is often a worry, but a worry Mourinho rejected: ‘Only Hazard, Fabregas and Courtois played on Tuesday so the accumulation of fatigue was not so dramatic, I am confident.’ One player that might be fatigued is a certain Eden Hazard, who has a busy schedule this season and is somewhat indispensible on Chelsea’s left-side:
‘Hazard is tired because he played two matches in three days, because he travelled, because he didn’t sleep, because he arrived in Belgium at five or six in the morning… We think he can recover.Obviously he starts tomorrow.’
Mourinho was in an upbeat mood with regards to the Premier League title race: ‘We need six victories and one draw from nine matches. It is a good situation for us, one that every club would like to have. If we are champions on the last day I am more than happy with that, I am not thinking about how or when. I don’t care. I just want to win it.’
Along with Everton, Chelsea have the best record this season directly after international breaks, accumulating nine points out of a possible nine. However, José Mourinho remained respectful of Mark Hughes’ Stoke side: ‘Stoke are a difficult team, that is why they are where they are [10th]. They know each other very well, big stability, the manger has a new contract. They are stable.’
Mourinho also commented on Greg Dyke’s recent proposals to increase the home-grown player quota: ‘I have no power, my opinion doesn’t change opinion. The power is not in my hands. I know I need to work with 8 English players in my squad. If someone tells me 10 or 12 or 5 or 4, then I don’t have to agree.I just have to work with the rules.’
Finally, Mourinho also spoke on John Terry’s new one-year contract extension, stating he was not surprised with the club’s wish to extend the captains stay ay the Bridge:‘It was no surprise to me.We all found the period without football as a good moment to sign it, to make it public. Everyone knows two months before the end of the season that John is staying for one more season.’
