Jose Mourinho has hit back at his recent critics by likening himself to Wayne Rooney, and claims that he is a “fantastic manager” whether Chelsea win or lose.
According to Goal, Mourinho has been under pressure in recent weeks as Chelsea have struggled early on in defence of their Premier League title, trailing leaders Manchester City by 11 points after just five games of the season.
The Stamford Bridge side recovered from two conseucitve league defeats to beat Maccabi Tel Aviv 4-0 in their opening Champions League group game on Wednesday, and Mourinho says observers should not be so quick to judge managers and players such as Rooney based on form.
“There are people who are not happy with so many successes,” the coach told reporters.
“Wayne Rooney was a disaster, then he beats the record with England and he’s suddenly the best player in the history of English football. Rooney is a fantastic player when he’s not scoring goals or when he is.
“I am a fantastic manager when I’m not winning matches and I’m a fantastic manager when I am.
“You like ‘up and down,’ but it’s not like that. The pundits get big money not to say easy things. They have to be geniuses in their analysis or they don’t deserve the money they get.”
Mourinho also thanked Chelsea fans for their support on Wednesday, saying, “It shows that they don’t read papers or they don’t have short memories: if they don’t read papers they’ll support me, if they don’t have short memories they’ll support me.
“There’s an easy way for them to think, which is: ‘We won four premier Leagues, three with him and one with his team, so this guy is not bad. Let’s support him, and we have a chance to win a fifth.’”
Chelsea face Arsenal on Saturday, and Mourinho added, “For all of us to have woken up again after a defeat and two days before a London derby against Arsenal, I could imagine how it would feel.”
Meanwhile, Mourinho has taken a swipe at Steven Gerrard as the Chelsea manager slammed claims of a rift with his axed captain John Terry.
Mourinho left Terry on the bench against Maccabi Tel Aviv.
LA Galaxy midfielder Gerrard, working as a television pundit for the Chelsea match, claimed Mourinho’s treatment of Terry must be due to a fracturing of their relationship. “There’s certainly a bit of friction behind the scenes because for me, you play John Terry week in, week out, he’s your captain,” Gerrard told BT Sport. But Mourinho was quick to respond. “Steven is wrong,” Mourinho said. Agency report
