Chelsea stranglehold on Spurs not important - Mourinho

LONDON (Reuters) - Chelsea's remarkable record against Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge was of no interest to manager Jose Mourinho as he prepared for Wednesday's London derby.

Chelsea stranglehold on Spurs not important - Mourinho

(Reuters)





Mourinho's club have not been beaten at home by Spurs since 1990 when former England marksman Gary Lineker scored one of the goals in a 2-1 victory.

The Chelsea manager seemed to be oblivious to the recent results between the teams on the eve of the match.

When Mourinho was informed at a news conference that Lineker was on target the last time Spurs won at The Bridge, he replied with a smile: "So, tomorrow he can't".

On a more serious note, the Portuguese added: "I don't know the record...and I don't speak to the players about it because it's not important.

"It's a big game, a London derby, against one of the top teams in the league, we like it. That's what we have to think about.

"We have to think it's a difficult match and we have to be ready for it," Mourinho said.

Chelsea, who go into the game against Spurs holding a six-point lead at the top of the Premier League, will be without leading scorer Diego Costa after he received his fifth yellow card of the season in Saturday's 0-0 draw at Sunderland.

"It doesn't affect us," said Mourinho. "We trust Loic Remy and Didier Drogba the same way we trust Diego Costa."

Chelsea dropped league points for only the third time this season but Mourinho said the mood among his players had not changed.

"The reaction has been normal," he added. "What do you want the team to do or to feel when the team is doing the perfect season?

"We're top of the Premier League, top of the group in the Champions League and in the quarter-finals of the Capital One Cup. We've not lost one match for four months so the team has to feel very very good."

Chelsea will stretch their unbeaten start to the season to 21 matches if they avoid defeat against seventh-placed Spurs.





(Editing by Ed Osmond)


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world