Jose Mourinho, the Portuguese coach, has replied to Chelsea supporters’ “fair” cries for him to replace Mauricio Pochettino at Stamford Bridge.
A portion of disgruntled Chelsea supporters were heard shouting Mourinho’s name during the club’s 2-2 Premier League tie with Brentford earlier this month. The Portuguese manager is now without a club following his abrupt dismissal from AS Roma in January.
Mourinho, who has already coached the west London club twice, has now broken his silence on the supporters’ calls for his return to Stamford Bridge, which he believes is a “fair” response to the team’s present troubles.
Speaking to Fabrizio Romano, Mourinho said: “The first feeling is I always say that the best thing football has is the fans. Because the fans don’t make money with football – they spend money with football! Sometimes they spend money that the family needs and they make sacrifices because of their passion for football and especially for the passion for their clubs.
“So normally they are fair. When the club’s fans don’t like the players or don’t like the coach, for some reason, it’s not because of beautiful eyes, it’s not because of a handsome guy. They love it, or they don’t love it, for some reason. In my case, independent of results – of course, I had the luck always to have something to celebrate, something for the fans to have a good memory of me – but I think something that they see is when you are committed to them.”
While the Blues’ failure to find success under Pochettino has left the fans at Stamford Bridge frustrated, it is unlikely that the club will part ways with the Argentine any time soon. They have dropped into the bottom half of the Premier League, but still have a chance to qualify for European football by winning the FA Cup as they are set to face Manchester City in a huge semi-final tie.
WHAT NEXT FOR CHELSEA?
Pochettino’s side will be back in action after the international break during the weekend as they take on Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday. Mourinho, meanwhile, will continue his search for a new job amid links with clubs in Saudi Arabia and the Portugal national team.
