Just outside the main entrance to Chelsea's training complex on Friday there was an empty parking space in the bay marked exclusively for Jose Mourinho.
After
their clash with Liverpool in the Barclays Premier League at Stamford
Bridge on Saturday lunchtime, Chelsea's manager will hope that his
sponsored Jaguar will still be welcome at Cobham.
It
is time that Mourinho's team, who won the title only six months ago,
slipped through the gears and moved back into the fast lane of English
football again.
Jose Mourinho is under pressure after
Chelsea's difficult start to the season
ahead of facing Liverpool
The Chelsea manager insists his side are
playing well and that he is not worried about
being sacked
It is time that Mourinho's team, currently 15th in
the league, made their way back up into the elite
ranks again
The
Portuguese, along with his coaching staff, is in good spirits because
there have been signs over the last few days — in team meetings, in the
dressing room, out on the training pitches — that their Chelsea are
coming back.
The
big characters, those who took offence at the public and private
criticism of their performances, are onside and ready to start winning
football matches again. That is the plan, anyway.
Captain
John Terry, along with last season's PFA Player of the Year Eden
Hazard, midfielders Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic and their main goal
threat Diego Costa, owe Mourinho a performance.
'Against
Stoke we played very well and at half-time it should have been 4-0,'
claimed Chelsea's manager. 'It wasn't a lack of confidence. The Stoke
keeper made magnificent saves in the game.
'You
feel more a lack of confidence when you don't want the ball, you don't
want to play so you hide. In the last two matches it has been the
opposite. We have played very well.'
On
Friday a note was still pinned to the wall of the lecture theatre —
'TEAM MEETING: DO NOT ENTER' — long after the players had been out on
the training pitches for their morning session.
Mourinho has the big personalities of his
squad onside ahead of the clash, including
his captain John Terry
Eden Hazard is another who is ready to work
to help his manager ahead of a key game at
Stamford Bridge
Cesc Fabregas is one of a number of Chelsea stars
to have underperformed in their tough start to the
season
CHELSEA LACKING GOAL THREAT
It
doesn't look like Chelsea have had their shooting boots on this season.
Their accuracy is among the worst in the league and their other key
shot stats have been far from impressive.
Chelsea
fans might fret about Saturday's clash with Liverpool being refereed by
Mark Clattenburg — particularly since the controversy with John Mikel
Obi. But it appears Mourinho and Clattenburg get on rather well...
CLATTENBURG'S CHELSEA GAMES
With Mourinho: Win 75%
In between his spells: Win 65%
It
is there that Mourinho addressed his players again, urging them to
start a run in the league so they can clamber up the table from their
lowly position of 15th.
Away
from the game, Mourinho's family has faced a bigger battle as his
father has fought to recover from the brain haemorrhage he suffered on
the day Chelsea played at Leicester last April.
Friday
was the first time Mourinho has talked openly about his father, also
called Jose, and he explained the seriousness of the condition, along
with the huge steps he has taken in recent weeks to recover from
surgery.
'My
father is winning his fight and he's winning it in a very secure way,'
revealed Mourinho. 'He went to levels nobody would expect — I think he's
a bit of a fighter. In the last few months the evolution has been
amazing. So if there is any consequence of that to me, it is positive.
'In
this moment I don't go to Portugal any more. My wife (Matilde) does
that for me. She couldn't believe how well he is, or how strong he is.
'The family is happy with his fantastic recovery. He had brain surgery the night we played Leicester and I only knew that night.
Mourinho talked openly about his father's recovery
from a brain haemorrhage in his Friday press conference
The Chelsea manager held a team meeting
after training on Friday to rally his troops for the
lunchtime kick-off
Mourinho shares a laugh with Michael Emenalo
at Cobham during Friday's pre-match training session
'In
the recovery period he had two strokes as a consequence of surgery and
he went to levels where it was very doubtful and very difficult.
'The
recovery in the last few months is good news, good news and good news.
The doctors say it can be good news or bad news, but it's been good news
for the last few months. He's almost ready to play!'
For
a moment Mourinho forgot that he fell out with the media after some
misguided tittle-tattle about his private life and a collision, shall we
call it, with a kid filming him in a London street this month.
'I know what life is,' he added. 'I know that in the end, what matters is the family and my family is top.
Nobody has ever doubted Mourinho's commitment to
the job, his professional edge and his determination
The Portuguese coach made it clear that his father's
condition had not affected his ability to manage
Mourinho will not want to see his side slip
further down the Premier League table this
weekend
'You
think I go every day (to see my father)? I go during international
weeks. You don't think I finish, go to Portugal today and come back
tomorrow morning to play Liverpool?
'I
never did that. The strength of the family is exactly that: to allow
you, obviously your heart feels, but to allow you to focus on your job,
your duties. We lead a normal life.'
Nobody
has ever doubted Mourinho's commitment to the job, his professional
edge and his determination to revive this club after their faltering
start to the season.
He
also made it clear that his father's condition has not affected his
ability to manage the team and he appeared offended by the suggestion
that it has affected him over the past few months.
Mourinho must ignore the pressure that he has been
placed under by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich
The Blues' miserable start to the season has caused
concerns but Abramovich have not sacked the boss
Mourinho's
sole aim is to start winning games again, to ignore the pressure that
he has been placed under by owner Roman Abramovich after this miserable
start to the defence of their title.
He added: 'I don't spend one second of my day thinking about it (the sack). I'm worried about the results.
'I'm worried about winning tomorrow, about qualifying for the next round of the Champions League.
'I am not worried about my job, my future, anything other than that.'
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