Champions League failure for Chelsea would really upset Jose Mourinho's stomach

Failure to progress in the Champions League could mean the end for Jose Mourinho

JOSE MOURINHO has been having a little trouble with wind lately. As if Chelsea's results have not been enough to give him chronic indigestion, then the storms outside have been blowing gale force.

 

Right now, the Chelsea manager is in danger of being swept right out of a job if his team fail to make it into the knockout stages of the Champions League against Porto at Stamford Bridge tonight.

Chelsea need a point to secure their place in the next stage but Porto come needing a win - and with eight defeats already behind Mourinho's team this season, the prospects look anything but secure. Squeaky bum time indeed.

Mourinho has insisted he will still be in charge at Chelsea even if his side fail again - but defeat could mean the humiliation of the Europa League and a £40million hole in the budget next season.

 

Chelsea's next game is at top-of-the-table Leicester on Monday and, even if he survives tonight, another loss in the league could push owner Roman Abramovich one step too far.

But Mourinho said: "The owner is not a person to change with the wind. I know the wind of the results is an important wind. I know this wind is strong because the results in the Premier League are really bad.

But the owner knows who I am and what I give to the club and the owner believes that I am the right person to do the job."

And Mourinho, under more pressure tonight than possibly at any other point in his glittering managerial career, insisted that, in any case, this calamitous season is not all his fault. "You can read these bad results and focus everything on the manager," he said.

 

"You can look at the results and look to players with performances below acceptable levels. You can look to the unlucky decisions we're having in every competition, not just the Premier League.

"You can look in many directions and decide this is not one man's responsibility. But that is just my point of view."

It would cost Abramovich £27m to sack Mourinho now, with three and a half years of his contract left and the manager said: "I am optimistic because I have done lots of good things in this club for the owner to know the quality I have.

"The owner has shown me that belief twice; once when he brought me back to the club; the second time when he gave me a new contract for four years in the summer.

 

"The owner knows who I am and what I give to the club and the owner believes that I am the right person to do the job."

When he first arrived back for his second spell in charge at Stamford Bridge, Mourinho said Chelsea were not a Europa league club - but that prospect stares them in the face right now.

"I was always against the teams being knocked out of the Champions League going into the Europa League - it's not fair," he said. "If you are knocked out, you should go home.

 

Mourinho is still confident he has the backing of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich

"But because the rules say the third team has the chance to go to the Europa League, it's a good way to win the competition and get back into the Champions League next season.

"But we don't want that. We want to play Champions League, play the best teams - Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich. And, for that, we need to win tonight."

Chelsea skipper John Terry took part in full training yesterday. He has missed the last two games after picking up an ankle injury in the win at Maccabi Tel Aviv last week, but is expected to be in the line up tonight. Brazilian midfielder Ramires could also return.