Chelsea manager, Jose Mourinho, says his side “are not happy” with the start they have made to the new Premier League season – but has backed his players to begin their Champions League campaign with a win.
The Premier League champions have endured a wretched start to the season, with Saturday’s 3-1 reverse at Everton their third loss from their opening five matches.
Mourinho has seen his side win only once so far, a 3-2 victory at West Bromwich Albion, and faces a huge challenge to peg back current league leaders Manchester City even at this earlier stage. City currently sit 11 points in front of Chelsea.
But ahead of Chelsea’s Champions League Group G opener with Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Mourinho is optimistic his players can put their Premier League troubles to one side and kick-off their challenge for European football’s biggest prize with a win.
“It’s a new competition with all four teams starting with zero points. To start at home is important,” he said.
Nobody can steal what we are, nobody can steal our trophies, nobody can steal our history. We know what we are: champions of England.
Mourinho added: “You have just to go back three months and three months ago we were the best team in the country, the best manager and the best players. We are not happy, but we know what we are,” he said.
“We start so bad. (But) it’s not because of that that somebody can steal what we are. Nobody can steal what we are, nobody can steal our trophies, nobody can steal our history. We know what we are: champions of England.”
Mourinho also believes Chelsea’s critics are looking for problems which are not there.
“It’s so simple to accept that the results are not good because that’s football. It’s so easy to connect that with football, injuries, bad luck, bad moments. It’s so easy to do that that it’s quite sad many people try to find problems where problems don’t exist.
“Our problem would be if problems are real, but in fact the only problem we have is not getting good results.”
