Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho used his pre-match press conference to say that he still thinks his side can achieve a ‘dream’ fourth placed finish in the Premier League.
Speaking ahead of the defending Premier League champion’s game against league leaders Leicester City, the self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ said, “Maybe we have a chance to dream with a great finish and finish fourth. While it is mathematically possibly, we have to try”.
The Blues are currently 14th in the Premier League, an incredible 14 points off fourth placed Manchester United and 17 points shy of this weekend’s opponents Leicester. Chelsea have lost five of their last ten league games, including four of their last seven. Their loss to Bournemouth last weekend means that the Cherries are the first newly promoted team to win at Stamford Bridge since Charlton managed it in April of 2001.
The defeat to Bournemouth left Chelsea just two points above the relegation zone and Mourinho admitted it wasn’t something he saw happening before the game kicked off. He said, “Before we lost the last three points against Bournemouth, I was convinced of fourth, of a great December for us. I have to be honest and say the last defeat was something that I was far away from believing was possible”.
Despite dreaming of finishing fourth the Portuguese boss also admitted that this season’s topsy-turvy league means that teams are going to struggle to put any kind of run of form together. He said, “The reality is that some clubs are doing so well, and some are not capable of doing what people are used to. It is not possible for clubs to win three, four, five, 10 matches in a row now”.
With rumours circulating that Mourinho could lose his job if he fails to win the next two league games the Chelsea manager was quick to insist that he’s in it for the long haul. He told the gathered press, “I imagine myself finishing my contract with Chelsea. I have three and half years on my contract. After that I imagine myself coaching, not every club, there are some clubs I will never manage. I think that the bad results are not normal, but the chance for every manager to do his work and finish what he started is. What is not normal is what is happening now”.
The Blues have a great opportunity to return to business as normal against the Foxes, a team that has been flying in recent weeks. Having lost just one of their last ten games and managed draws against Stoke, Southampton and Manchester United the Chelsea manager will be keen to ask questions of the club’s former boss Claudio Ranieri and his current charges.