Extremely rough times for Chelsea right now; especially so for Manager Jose Mourinho. It appears that he might have lost some of his own players in his own dressing room. If the losing continues, both domestically and in Europe, he could lose the approval of owner Roman Abramovich next.
(Of course, Mourinho recently signed a contract extension, so that’s a complicated situation to potentially explore down the road) Today, Mourinho and Chelsea face Southampton, and they do so with a club that contains “rats,” according to Mourinho.
The Chelsea boss was asked whether John Terry will return to action today, Mourinho responded:
“I don’t tell you the team.”
“Maybe you have some sources who can give you some tips. We trained tactically yesterday and today, so I’m sure you have some rats who can tell you what is going on.”
He refrained from revealing any info regarding his team selection; which is quite commonplace among managers. However, he also made a suggestive comment there that media would know anyway, given that they have inside sources within his club; according to him.
It’s just the latest in a long line of colorful and controversial comments made by Mourinho as the losing continues and the pressure mounts on him.
In recent weeks, Mourinho has:
–fired a classless passive-aggressive shot at Arsenal Manager Arsene Wenger
-called a reporter’s line of questioning stupid
-admitted that this is the worst period of his career
Mourinho has always been colorful and opinionated in press conferences, even in times good. He often likes to call attention to himself, and has done so throughout his managerial career. It just appears now that he doesn’t know what to do with all the attention on him right now. This negative attention is obviously not the kind of attention anyone would want placed on oneself.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and sometimes writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. The website is also featured on News Now.
Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes to the Chicago Tribune RedEye. He also appears regularly on numerous talk shows all across the country. Catch him Tuesdays on KOZN 1620 The Zone.