Jose Mourinho upbeat over Chelsea’s Champions League chances

I said to him: ‘Maybe we have to try something, to change something.

Mourinho dedicated the game to the club’s player liaison officer Gary Staker, whose father died this week and has worked for Chelsea since the days when he was the only Italian speaker they could rustle up to translate for Claudio Ranieri. I expect we will be more competitive in this match, however, and the aim is to win. I didn’t have a single problem within the squad.

Mourinho expects the tie to be much more hard than the first time the clubs met in September, an encounter Chelsea won 4-0, because Maccabi now have more experience in the Champions League and will have the backing of their vociferous fans. His strike against Porto on Matchday 4 proved nothing other than a consolation, though, as his team went down 3-1.

Jose Mourinho may have given up on retaining Chelsea’s Premier League title this season, but knows that the Champions League is a totally different competition, one which, as he pointed out, unfancied teams can win more easily.

The best way is to focus on football and the happiness you have to play football, the responsibility you have to play football.

“If we play like we are playing then I think we have a chance to keep in the same direction”. I had every-body without fears, just wanting to come.

“The fact that he does so with a cheap jibe about Le Saux being fearful of an away match in Israel a decade ago says it all. We could feel that he tried against Norwich, and he’s OK, he’s improving”. If we win we can be qualified and in the fight for first position, which is important.

Chelsea are 15th in the Premier League after 13 games, yet Mourinho maintains a place in the top four and Champions League qualification is possible.

“For Maccabi Tel Aviv this season at Stamford Bridge it was their first game, it was raining, the pitch was very fast and Chelsea started quickly and played really well”, Mourinho said.

Maccabi warmed-up for the Chelsea game with a 3-0 victory over Hapoel Haifa in Ligat Ha’Al on Saturday, with second-half strikes from Emmanuel Igiebor, Avraham Rikan and Zahavi, and Jokanovic hopes they can transfer their league form to Europe.

“These will be powered by new commercial deals, including our record-breaking partnership with Yokohama, and revenues related to this season’s Champions League which improve due to entering as Premier League champions and an increase in TV revenue for English clubs”. “In a club like Chelsea, when you have a lot of top players, where it is hard for the youngest to have chances, we are giving opportunities to players”.

As for the home side, there are no major concerns to report other than Dejan Radonjic, who will miss out with an ankle injury.