‘IT IS EASY TO MANAGE CHELSEA’

Jose lights the Blue Tuch paper

JOSE MOURINHO says it is easy to manage Chelsea – and has got the trophies to prove it.

Tottenham manager Mourinho turned up the heat on Thomas Tuchel, below, before their clash tonight by claiming the new Blues boss will only prove himself by being successful in the Premier League.

Mourinho remains Chelsea’s most successful manager after winning three Premier League titles in two trophy-laden spells.

But he laughed off the notion that Chelsea was a difficult club to manage, with unique pressures and expectation levels leading to the hiring and firing of managers on a regular basis.

Mourinho said: “I don’t think it’s very difficult to coach at Chelsea because I was a champion three times, Carlo Ancelotti was a champion and Antonio Conte was a champion.

“Chelsea always have great players and good coaches are happy to work with players that give you a very good opportunity to win titles. The biggest challenge for a coach is to work in the best leagues. Tuchel was coming from a league [with Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1] that you cannot compare with the Premier League. But he is used to working with players of high calibre”.

Mourinho revealed striker Harry Kane could be back from injury for next week’s FA Cup tie at Everton. He said: “We were a bit scared when everything happened with Harry but now we’re much more positive.” Mourinho has also held clear-the-air talks with midfielder Dele Alli.

TOTTENHAM have donated £100,000 to NHS heroes at a local hospital. The money was raised from fines collected from players who broke Covid restrictions. TOTTENHAM (probable): Lloris; Aurier, Sanchez, Dier, Davies; Hoijbjerg, Sissoko, Ndombele; Lucas, Son, Bergwijn.