Football
ESPN staff 9y

Jose Mourinho: Premier League harder now than during first Chelsea stint

Jose Mourinho has told ESPN FC that the Premier League is "very, very hard" due to the amount of money that its member teams are able to spend and believes that five teams are capable of winning the title next season.

In an exclusive interview, the Chelsea manager compared the league now to where it was when he took over as Chelsea manager for the first time in 2004.

"England at the time was Manchester United and Arsenal, and it was Chelsea coming with all the ambition of [owner Roman] Abramovich," he said. "There was a big distance between these three and the others. Obviously, it was very competitive because of the nature of England. It is the mentality of everyone. But the distances were huge.

"In this moment it is different. Clearly, five teams can win the title. One of them will be champion, and one of them will not even qualify for the Champions League. So two years ago, Manchester City were champions and Man Utd out of the Champions League. Last year Chelsea were champions and Liverpool were out of the Champions League. And next season somebody will be champions and somebody will be outside of the Champions League."

Mourinho also highlighted the ability of smaller clubs to spend as being a major development in the recent history of the league.

"[Yohan] Cabaye at Crystal Palace -- a player that left Newcastle two years ago to go to Paris Saint-Germain to get lots of money on a big transfer fee -- is coming to Crystal Palace," he added. "The players that are going to Stoke; the players that are going to Everton; with the players that are going to every club in the Premier League it is getting much more difficult.

"So, that's what I felt last season, and that's what I feel this season. At this moment the Premier League is the top competition, and it's very, very hard."

Chelsea won the league by eight points last season but, after showing dominant early form, struggled in the closing stages and were knocked out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain in the last-16.

"We can't [play like that all season], nobody can," said Mourinho. "And a great quality of a team is to feel the moment, to feel their fragilities, to feel the highs and to feel the problems. And in the first part of the season we were flying, and every player was in top form and no injuries and no suspensions and we were fantastic. We scored an amazing number of goals and playing so well, and many times beautiful."

Key injuries and suspensions led to more of a pragmatic approach and Mourinho highlighted a closely-fought Capital One Cup semifinal vs. Liverpool as having an adverse effect on his squad, particularly given that it led to the absence of two key players.

"Chelsea-Liverpool, two legs, with one Premier League match in the middle of it, was a moment where the accumulation of fatigue was high," he said. "We lost [Cesc] Fabregas with an important injury, we lost Diego [Costa] with an important suspension. And then we were not the same, because our team without Fabregas and without Diego is not the same."

An April clash vs. Manchester United was seen as a game which could reopen the title race had Louis van Gaal's side won. As it was, though United dominated possession, Chelsea emerged with a 1-0 win. Mourinho has no regrets about the way he approached the game.

"Why are they six points behind us? Because we are better," he said. "Because during the season, we put ourselves in that position. So if a point is good for me and it's not good for them, it's not my fault. It's their fault."

Watch more from ESPN FC's exclusive interview with Jose Mourinho on this website and ESPN FC TV (nightly in the U.S. at 6 p.m. ET on ESPNEWS and WatchESPN). Plus, ESPN FC TV debuts on BT Sport in the UK on Saturday at 8:30 a.m.

^ Back to Top ^