TIMES COMMENT ON MOURHINO

Last updated : 07 February 2005 By editor

From The Times:

'So far, Mourinho has handled being in the public eye and appears to relish the pressure that comes with managing a club with the highest of expectations. But yesterday he did seem ruffled and even introduced a conspiracy theory of sorts to explain why Chelsea do not win every single game.

"We don’t control the fixtures," he said. "Every game after international week Chelsea plays on Saturday, Manchester United plays on Sunday, Arsenal plays on Monday. Who controls the fixtures and who decides that I have to play Everton on Saturday?"

As to the draw against City: "The result is not the mirror of the game." But perhaps Mourinho’s own performance was a fair reflection of the pressure being felt by a club destined to be one that football fans love to hate.'