IF CHELSEA FANS HATE ME, SO BE IT
Mourinho braced for another Blues backlash
HAVING made his peace with Antonio Conte, Jose Mourinho reached out to Chelsea supporters and admitted he doesn’t know how he will be received by them at Wembley today. Mourinho was subjected to taunts of ‘Judas’ when Chelsea beat United in the FA Cup quarter-finals last season as his relationship with the fans of his old club turned sour. But the 55-year-old coach yesterday praised them for standing by him even when he was sacked by Roman Abramovich in 2007 — four months after lifting the FA Cup with Chelsea against United — and again in 2015.
‘The only thing I say in relation to Chelsea supporters is that since my first day in 2004 until my last day when I was sacked a couple of years ago, they were with me unconditionally,’ said Mourinho.
‘They supported me every day, every match. They supported me even on the days I was sacked — twice.
‘That I will never forget because they did what great supporters do — support their manager unconditionally until the last day. They were phenomenal.’
However, the United manager admitted he does not know if his sentiments will be reciprocated, adding: ‘When I became Manchester United manager, you know better than me of course, if the supporters hate me or dislike me or disrespect me. That is something I cannot control. But you don’t have any thoughts from me with negative words about Chelsea supporters. Not one word.’
Mourinho has a phenomenal record in cup finals, winning on 12 of his 14 appearances with Chelsea, United, Porto, Inter Milan and Real Madrid. He has never lost one in normal time.But he insisted that will have little bearing on the outcome of today’s game.
‘ I think the winning mentality doesn’t have to do with records or history in finals,’ he said.
‘Honestly I think what we did in the past has nothing to do with tomorrow and the records don’t play. What plays is tomorrow, 11 against 11, and everybody trying to give their best.’
Mourinho also dismissed suggestions that United’s season hinges on lifting the cup after finishing a distant second to Manchester City in the title race.
‘People can do what they want,’ he added. ‘You can analyse the way you want to analyse and I can analyse the way I want. Of course, it makes a difference but I’m not going to change my analysis of the season because of one match, not at all.’
Mourinho will make a late decision on the fitness of striker Romelu Lukaku, who has missed the last three games with an ankle injury, but United’s top scorer is widely expected to feature. ‘I don’t want to lie to you and say he doesn’t play and then he plays, so Lukaku we have to wait,’ he said. The United manager also confirmed that David de Gea will be in goal instead of Sergio Romero because the Argentine goalkeeper, who has played in every round except the semi-final, is not match sharp after a knee problem.
‘It’s not about confidence or no confidence, it’s about the process of the last couple of months,’ said Mourinho.