Jose Mourinho admits Chelsea's struggles have made him a better manager

Jose Mourinho admitted hard lessons have made him a better manager

JOSE MOURINHO admits he has learned plenty of lessons during the darkest period of his managerial career.

 

The Chelsea manager is battling to save the west London club's season after the Premier League champions lost seven of their opening 13 matches and now lie 15th in the table, 12 points off a top-four place.

Mourinho, so used to winning wherever he has worked across Europe, freely admits that these are the most challenging moments he has had to face over the past 15 years.

Only victory over Tottenham in today's noon kick-off at White Hart Lane will enable him - temporarily at least - to lift some of the gloom that has hung over Stamford Bridge in recent weeks. And Mourinho reflected: "Have I learned more about myself this season?

 

"Of course. I have learned how to live without the happiness of winning matches.

"I learned how to motivate myself without the target of being champion, which is not easy for somebody that always had the happiness of winning matches very regularly. I am humble. I am.

"The fact that I want big things, I want to win and I want to win titles and so on is not a question of being humble or not being humble.

"But I think I am a better manager because I have accumulated experiences. I learn with all these experiences."