If the pressure is getting to Jose Mourinho, he doesn't seem to be showing it yet with the Chelsea manager arriving at training ahead of one of the biggest games of his career in a cheery mood.
Monday
saw the Portuguese coach's already-deep problems worsen with a Football
Association stadium ban and £40,000 fine following news that doctor Eva
Carneiro would sue him individually.
Mourinho
spent Monday night out with his family dining at Gaucho Grill in
Chelsea, and a relaxed evening in the company of his clan looked the
perfect preparation for the visit of Dynamo Kiev.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is all smiles as he arrives
for training at their Cobham HQ on Tuesday
The Chelsea boss is stepping up preparations for
Wednesday's Champions League visit of Dynamo Kiev
Mourinho is pictured leaving the Gaucho Grill restauran
t in Chelsea on Monday night with son Jose Jr
Mourinho's daughter Matilde Jr (second left) and wife
Matilde (third left) leave behind the Chelsea boss
On
Tuesday Mourinho arrived at Cobham to step up Chelsea's preparations
for the crisis-hit champions' biggest game of the season in Wednesday's
Champions League group-stage clash.
The
visiting Ukrainians know they could wreck their hosts' hopes of success
in another competition with a shock victory at Stamford Bridge putting
the Blues - and Mourinho - on the brink.
But
for now, things remain stable in the Special One's camp. His future is
not being considered by the club who handed him a new four-year contract
this summer, although that could all change with the key fixtures
against Dynamo and Stoke City to come this week.
Mourinho,
his wife Matilde, son Jose Jr and daughter Matilde Jr had dinner at the
Chelsea branch of Argentine restaurant chain Gaucho, where steaks can
cost anything from £19.95 for a 300g rump to £59.50 for a 500g fillet.
The
Chelsea manager dressed casually on a relaxed evening ahead of his
latest meeting with the media which takes place at the club's Cobham
training base at 12.30pm on Tuesday.
Recent
press conferences and interviews have seen Mourinho in a spiky mood,
particularly in a BT Sport quizzing where he refused to offer answers to
the questions put to him in Chelsea's defeat by Liverpool at Stamford
Bridge on Saturday.
Mourinho enjoyed a relaxing evening with his
close family in an escape from the recent
stress of his job
Dynamo Kiev know they could wreck their hosts' hopes
of success and put Mourinho on the brink of exit
That
3-1 reverse ramped up the speculation that the 52-year-old could be on
his way out but he remains in a job after the latest series of planning
meetings with his inner ring of backroom staff.
Meanwhile,
on Monday, former boss Carlo Ancelotti and ex-Chelsea player Claude
Makelele emerged as a possible dream ticket management pairing to take
over if Mourinho is sacked.
Ancelotti and Makelele worked together for two years at Paris Saint-Germain before going their separate ways in 2013.
Both
enjoyed success at Chelsea, both remain popular among the supporters
and both are out of work. Ancelotti left Real Madrid last summer and
Makelele was sacked within six months of leaving PSG for his first
managerial job at another French club, Bastia.
Mourinho faces the media after training on Tuesday
ready to talk through his latest big-game assignment
Carlo Ancelotti (left) and Claude Makelele (pictured at
Paris Saint-Germain) have emerged as a possible team
Ancelotti
is in London — on holiday he insists — and the Italian is by no means
certain to accept the offer of a return to the job he lost in 2011, when
he was sacked a year after winning the Double.
Mourinho
was hit with a misconduct charge after being sent to the stands in his
side's 2-1 defeat at West Ham last month. And while he is still expected
to travel to Stoke and watch the game from the team hotel, the ban
could not come at a more difficult time, given it was only last week
that Chelsea lost at Stoke in the Capital One Cup.
An
Independent Regulatory Commission confirmed Mourinho's punishment takes
immediate effect, although an appeal could delay it. Mourinho and
Chelsea will decide how to respond once they have received the FA's
written reasons for the ban later this week.
STATE OF PLAY IN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GROUP G
If Chelsea beat Dynamo...
Things
look to start a little more comfortable. The Blues face group
whipping-boys Maccabi on matchday five and should have a Stamford Bridge
showdown with Porto to decide who tops the group.
If Chelsea draw with Dynamo...
It
gets a bit more difficult. Porto should win away in Tel Aviv which will
leave Chelsea potentially needing maximum points from their last two
games to overhaul Dynamo.
If Chelsea lose against Dynamo...
Nightmare.
The Blues will probably be six and four points behind their main Group G
rivals respectively. They would have to win both remaining games and
hope for a favour from Maccabi away in Kiev. Even that might not be
enough.
Remaining fixtures
04/11 Maccabi Tel Aviv vs Porto
04/11 Chelsea vs Dynamo Kiev
24/11 Porto vs Dynamo Kiev
24/11 Maccabi Tel Aviv vs Chelsea
09/12 Dynamo Kiev vs Maccabi Tel Aviv
09/12 Chelsea vs Porto
Tags
SOCCER