TIME TO STEP IT UP
Mourinho lays down the law to his under-performing young stars
JOSE MOURINHO was in no mood to mince his words as he faced up to the prospect of a season that looks like ending without a trophy, something that usually leads to the manager’s exit at Chelsea.
Having complained that his team lacked ‘cojones’ when they lost to Crystal Palace last month, Mourinho still thinks some in his squad need to grow some b***s.
And after laying into Eden Hazard following the Champions League defeat by Atletico Madrid, and with league losses to Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Sunderland seemingly ending their titles hopes, the Chelsea manager has drawn added attention to the poor form of his playmaker, Oscar.
The Brazilian was quoted as saying his hip injury meant he needed to rest prior to the World Cup, where he will be a key player in Brazil’s bid to win the trophy on home soil.
Mourinho says Oscar is unable to play against Norwich today because of injury – but Chelsea’s manager fully expects to see the player back to his best form and free of any fitness doubts when the season is over next weekend and he is called up for the national team.
Mourinho sold Juan Mata to Manchester United for £37million in January at which stage it appeared Oscar was free to claim the No 10 role for himself. But he has failed to grow into the role and Mourinho said: ‘Oscar was our best player for months, from August to November or December. He was fantastic. And after that, he was up and down. The reasons why I don’t think I should say because some of them are from the personal side of the man, not the player.
‘But after that he was up and down. He arrived in the crucial moment of the season in a down: injuries, he couldn’t train, he was trying to arrive to the game but didn’t, he was a doubt for the game. And the game was too big to play with a doubtful player, so he arrived in the crucial moment of the season in a low. I can imagine, in a couple of weeks, he will be in a high and during the World Cup he will be in a high.’
Asked whether the player’s present concern should be his club rather than next month’s World Cup, Mourinho said: ‘There are things you can’t resolve.’
Mourinho’s comments will throw doubt on the future of Oscar and Hazard, whom Mourinho publicly criticised on Friday for allowing Atletico to score in the Champions League semi-final. Paris Saint-Germain are interested in both players and though the French club are expecting a sanction from UEFA for breaching Financial Fair Play rules which may limit their spending this summer, Mourinho’s apparent scepticism about the pair suggests that either might be permitted to leave if the right offer came in.
After his remarks about his players’ lack of b***s, Mourinho now says the likes of Andre Schurrle and Mohamed Salah – as well as Oscar and Hazard, if they are still there – will all need to demonstrate next season that they have the maturity to win his stamp of approval.
Asked whether his side still lacked ‘cojones’, Mourinho said: ‘You can help to build them. I’m not saying I’m going to succeed with every one of them. But, for example, I have Dr Biosca, who was the doctor in Shakhtar Donetsk for many years with Willian, and he says he doesn’t recognise Willian: the professional, the player, the commitment, the ambition.
‘The only thing he recognises is the talent because he has improved. But you can’t succeed with everybody. It’s up to them. You can’t improve players like Terry or Cole. All of the others have to improve, all the time.’
Publicly, Mourinho insists his young, creative players will stay. ‘I think they will stay,’ said the Portuguese. ‘They’re in an age for that. For example, Schurrle: if you ask me if he had a good season? Not bad, but next season must be better, much better. Salah, Oscar, Willian, Hazard: all of them are in an age of improvement.’
Chelsea will have to trade in the transfer market if they are to add the two proven goalscorers Mourinho says he needs. The club are now constrained by Financial Fair Play, which partly explained the sale of Mata in January, and David Luiz is expected to join Barcelona in a deal that could bring in £30m.
Diego Costa, whose penalty helped to knocked out Chelsea on Wednesday and who had no compunction confronting Terry and Branislav Ivanovic, now looks likely to join from Atletico, although there may be extra fees to pay on top of his £32m buy-out clause.
Chelsea may also challenge Arsenal for centre forward Mario Mandzukic, who is expected to leave Bayern Munich with the arrival of Robert Lewandowski from Borussia Dortmund in the summer. The club do have the budget to cover one major signing and selling Luiz could help pay for a second striker but they would still then need an additional midfielder, a centre-half and a left-back if Ashley Coles leaves.
Fernando Torres and Demba Ba are expected to leave but even so Chelsea look as though they will need to sell at least one star player to finance all their targets.