Former Chelsea striker reveals why playing under Jose Mourinho is so stressful

Ba spent 18 months at Chelsea, but never established himself as a first team regular

 

DEMBA BA claims it is exhausting to play under Jose Mourinho.

 

Ba joined Chelsea from Newcastle United after scoring 29 goals in 58 games, signing for the London club in January 2013.

The Senegalese striker made 22 appearances in the second half of that season, scoring six times.

However, Mourinho arrived that very summer, and Samuel Eto'o followed in the same window, moving Ba down the pecking order behind the Cameroonian striker, as well as Fernando Torres and Andre Schurrle.

 

Ba left for Besiktas in 2014, having made just 19 appearances in Mourinho's first season back at Stamford Bridge.

But the striker, now playing his football out in China, believes he knows why Mourinho lost the dressing room at Chelsea 

“When he loses, you feel as if the sky as fallen on his head,” Ba told French radio station RMC.

 

“It’s rare for him to do three years in a row. 

"For a player, it’s so tiring, exhausting.

 

“He pushes his players to the limit to see what they’ve got in them. It’s up to you alone to gain confidence again if you lose it.”

Chelsea have yet to name their replacement for Mourinho, but Guus Hiddink, who fulfilled a similar interim role back in 2009, has been widely backed to take temporary charge.