Chelsea manager José Mourinho met with the press on Friday afternoon at Cobham, spending about 15 minutes fielding questions ahead of Sunday’s Premier League fixture at Hull City.
Team news remains the same for now, as José said that John Obi Mikel is the only player unavailable for the weekend due to injury. Mourinho did note that he believes Mikel will be back to training following the conclusion of the upcoming international break, so his month-long recovery from a knee injury seems to be nearing its end and Chelsea should soon have another option in the defensive midfield.
Mourinho would not comment on whether or not the quest for the Premier League crown had become a three-horse race with the recent run from Arsenal seeing them only one point behind second-place Manchester City. The Portuguese emphasized that while Chelsea’s six-point advantage with a game in hand is significant, there is still a long way to go with 10 matches remaining on the schedule. José believes that the team is confident, as they have been chased at the top of the table since August so the situation remains normal.
“I would prefer to have 20 points more but it is a good situation for us,” Mourinho said. “In nine years we’ve won [the Premier League] once so it’s not easy. Our normal tendency is to finish the season in a very strong way.“
Chelsea’s magic number to secure the title remains 22 points.
A popular topic of discussion this week among Chelsea supporters and pundits is the future of young midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek at Stamford Bridge. The 19-year-old has not seen much playing time with the first team this season, but Mourinho reaffirmed his recent comments about RLC’s place in the squad moving forward again on Friday. The manager believes that it is not the right moment currently to unleash the promising youngster, but that will change next season.
“Next season Ruben Loftus-Cheek will be competing for a first team position,” he said. “At the moment we are protecting him.“
Mourinho would not take the bait when asked about rumors involving a bid for dynamic Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba, deflecting the question and saying that he is happy with his current midfield players including Nemanja Matić and Cesc Fàbregas in the double-pivot as well as RLC waiting in the ranks. As far as summer transfers are concerned, Mourinho maintains that he expects a ‘nice and quiet‘ transfer period, as there are not many needs in his side currently. José does not usually like to divulge information regarding possible transfers, so these comments could perhaps be taken with a grain of salt, but for now the Special One insists he is happy with the squad although he will always look to improve.
Based on Mourinho’s demeanor it seems to be business as usual in West London, where Chelsea will continue to focus on maintaining their lead atop the table and creeping ever closer to the league title.
“Every player has ambitions to win big titles and the Premier League is a big one for them,” Mourinho said. “We are closer than ever.”
