Chelsea boss Mourinho: More managers face stadium bans

Mourinho decided not to appeal against the ban because he was convinced it would have been a foregone conclusion that his punishment would be upheld.

The beleaguered Blues boss is serving a one-game stadium ban after admitting a misconduct charge over his language and behaviour in last month’s defeat to West Ham. He shouted that you f***ing referees are weak…

Mourinho, speaking in his press conference on Friday lunchtime to preview the clash, said: “I don’t know where or how I will watch the game”.

He told reporters at Cobham, “Because the match is tomorrow and because I know the result of that appeal already, I made a decision to give up”.

Former Stamford Bridge striker Hughes can add to their problems on Saturday if his team beat the Londoners at the Britannia Stadium where the Portuguese will serve a one-match stadium ban.

However, there are no plans by the FA or the Premier League to search Chelsea kit skips and team equipment in the build up to the game.

Chelsea FC travel up to the West Midlands this weekend as they pay a visit to Stoke City.

The Blues are still to pore over the written reasons before making the decision. He said: “It is the same”. “It is also one of the best goals I have scored in my career”. History does assist them in this match though Chelsea is a 4-0-1 in their last five games against Stoke.

“If after 10 minutes we are playing with seven men, it’s something I didn’t prepare my assistants for”. It’s going to be unusual of course.

“But I want to repeat because I think my players deserve it, I think our fans deserve it and I am a Chelsea fan too”.

When quizzed about where he plans to watch the tie, he said: “You can imagine that it’s not easy”.

“On top of it, I am going to that stadium to work, and people says “you can not come here to do your work”. Sometimes you hear him, and especially if you play on his side of the pitch. The game is unpredictable, but we try to reduce the impact from extreme scenarios you can imagine such as winning 4-0 at half-time to losing 4-0 at half-time, and between those you have 1000 options including injuries and red cards to each player.

There may have been another defeat – this time off the field – but fragile confidence was boosted by Wednesday’s win, when the home crowd made clear their support for Mourinho. “The responsibility is big for us and we are ready to take that”.