MOUR TIRED BUT NOT EMOTIONAL

United boss Jose argues Blues have had it easier as Euro run takes toll

JOSE MOURINHO claims Chelsea’s players have had it easy this season compared to his exhausted Manchester United squad.

Fifth-placed United host Chelsea tomorrow, trailing the Premier League leaders by 18 points and still far from certain of securing a top-four place.

But Mourinho reckons no fair comparisons can be made between his current team and his former club because of the fixture disparity between them – which he blamed for the current gulf.

He said: “First of all, some guys are fresh, some are tired. That’s very important in football.

“But for some reason they are top of the league. It’s not just because they are fresh. It’s also because they have individual quality and they have collective quality. They have a certain style of play, they stick to it, they do it very well.

“Not every team defends with 11 players and they defend with 11 players. Not every team is so objective in their counter-attacks.

“They are very objective in the counter-attack and they have individual players out of the context of the game that can also resolve the problems. So they are a very strong team.”

United have played 52 games this season, their EFL Cup win and ongoing Europa League campaign taking a gruelling toll on Mourinho’s men.

Chelsea have played just 38 times so far, their non-involvement in Europe helping them to march to the brink of the title in Antonio Conte’s first season in charge.

Mourinho also says he will not allow emotion to cloud his judgment tomorrow after tensions spilled over in his last two meetings with his old club.

The United boss clashed with Conte in October when the Special One was on the receiving end of a 4-0 humiliation at his former club.

Mourinho took exception to Conte’s over-zealous celebrations on the touchline at 4-0 and had words with his opposite number at the end.

And last month, when United lost 1-0 at Chelsea in the FA Cup, Mourinho was taunted throughout by Blues fans who branded their old boss a “Judas”.

Mourinho responded with a three-fingered gesture to those vengeful Chelsea fans, to indicate the number of titles he had won for them.

And he added: “You say that word emotion. For me, it’s just a game. One more game. No difference for me, not at all.”

Some guys are fresh, some guys are tired. That’s very important MOURINHO