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| Jose Mourinho said he didn't apeal his ban as he already knew the outcome |
JOSE MOURINHO was in a typically defiant mood ahead of his Chelsea side's trip to Stoke tomorrow.
It could hardly be more important for the 15th-placed Blues, who could leapfrog the Potters with victory or move within an inch of the relegation zone in the event of defeat.
But they will be without the support of their influential manager, as Mourinho is serving a one-match stadium ban and is forbidden from setting foot inside the Britannia.
The Portuguese pulled no punches when asked for his thoughts on the punishment but insisted he had no intention of launching a "stupid appeal" before today's 12pm deadline.
“I know the result of the appeal already, so I decide to give up," Mourinho said.
“I think it's stupid to fight a fight you know you already lose.”
He was equally defiant about his side's recent form, insisting they've been nowhere near as bad as suggested.
Their league position would suggest otherwise but Mourinho appears to be relaxed about the unknown position his side finds itself in.
Such is his outlook, he admits he might not even watch the game.
“I travel with the team and will be with them until the moment somebody stops me, which is, I think, when I am in the limit of the compound of the stadium,” he said.
“We know when I have to stop. I don’t know (where I will watch the game). I have no plans. Maybe I sit on the street corner with my iPad. I don’t know. Maybe I don’t even watch the game.
"I can’t contact my staff during the game. Why? Maybe Twitter, Livescore. I don’t know.”
He insists his backroom staff, who will take charge of the game, are properly prepared and know exactly what to do.
However, he provided a frosty and somewhat surprising response when asked who will be in charge of the match-day responsibilities.
He said: “Me. I will be in charge.
"Every responsibility is my responsibility. My staff are completely free of that extra pressure.
"That doesn’t belong to their jobs. It’s my responsibility. If, after 10 minutes, we are playing with seven men, it’s something I didn't prepare my assistants for.
"They’d have to decide themselves. But we tried to reduce (the decisions needed to be made).
“The game is unpredictable. We don’t know the direction it will go in many aspects, but we try to reduce them. "
Whoever is in charge will have to do without Radamel Falcao.
The striker is set for weeks on the sidelines through injury but remains the only major injury concern, aside from long-term casulaty Thibaut Courtois.
Branislav Ivanovic is back fit and free to play.
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