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Premier League
Jan 17, 2015 at 3pm UK
 
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Live Coverage: Jose Mourinho's weekly Chelsea press conference

Follow Sports Mole's live coverage of Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho's pre-match press conference ahead of his side's match against Swansea City.
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Jose Mourinho has confirmed that Thibaut Courtois is not fully fit for his side's Premier League match against Swansea City this weekend.

Chelsea manager admitted that he is unsure whether the Belgian or Petr Cech will play at the Liberty Stadium this weekend.

Mourinho also spoke about his recent FA charge, Premier League referees and the transfer market.

Read what the boss said below:


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Good morning! Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is back on press duties this week after delegating the task to assistant Steve Holland last week. He'll be talking to the media in around 15 minutes.

With Manchester City being held to a draw last weekend, Chelsea have been able to pull clear at the top of the table again, opening up a two-point cushion with a win over Newcastle United. The victory put their 5-3 New Year's Day defeat to Tottenham behind them.

Here's a stat showing the impressive distance that Cesc Fabregas has covered since joining Chelsea in the summer:


Chelsea have a busy few weeks ahead of them. After the trip to the Liberty Stadium, there's a trip to Anfield a few days later for the first leg of the Capital One Cup semi-final against Liverpool. Mourinho's side then host Bradford in the FA Cup next weekend before competing in the second leg of their League Cup tie all before the end of the month.

Don't forget, Sports Mole will bring you live coverage of this match, with build up starting an hour before kickoff. We'll also have loads of post-match reaction, including player ratings and quotes from the managers.

Mourinho has just arrived ready for his press conference, so let's see what he has to say...


Mourinho starts with a joke after sitting out his media duties last weekend: "You've missed me. Steve Holland speaks better English than me. Now I can control my words better than last week."

Mourinho was recently charged by the FA for suggesting that referees weren't giving decisions to his side. He insists: "I am happy to admit my mistakes, so when I spoke with Kevin Friend and realised it was a mistake and not his I apologised. The reality is all the decisions are going against us, and results are affected by that, but I want to put any doubts about the honesty of people totally beyond us."

Mourinho is asked what he said to referee Phil Dowd: "What we speak about there is between us. Sometimes they are normal words, other times, we go and speak like men. He made a big mistake, but when I got to his room, I go in a privileged position having watched it on TV."

Turning his attention to his squad, Mourinho tells reporters: "I'm happy with the squad, we have a good group, not just in terms of football but working together. I'll be happy if nobody leaves and nobody comes but the market is open so you never know."

On his squad availability for this match, Mourinho admits that Thibaut Courtois is not 100% fit, but that he is available for selection, but Cesar Azpilicueta will miss out, although he is expected to be back in training next week."

Mourinho is asked about Wilfried Bony's move to Swansea, as Chelsea had also been linked with the striker. He responds: "Well done, good player, good striker. If they have no problems with [financial fair play ruled] well done. If Bony plays and leaves Dzeko on the bench I'm happy with that. Rules are different for City, you know what I mean."

Bony's departure obviously means that he won't be playing for Swansea this weekend, although he is with his national side at the Africa Cup of Nations anyway, but Mourinho doesn't think his exit is a big blow to the Welsh side: "Swansea have a very good team and very good teams don't depend on one player. Losing Bony doesn't make them less difficult."

On Chelsea's form, Mourinho says: "We are top of the league since the first minute of the season and we are there because we deserve to be. We always have to improve, we have young players, a young team and there is a lot of space to improve, this season and next. We are not favourites for the title, we are candidates. I would say the same if we were two points behind."

Mourinho is asked whether he needs to strengthen his defence after they let in five goals against Tottenham, but he doesn't think so: "I have the two best goalkeeper in the Premier League, I have fantastic defenders. The team defends very well. We conceded five in one game and that is better than conceding one each in five matches and losing five matches."

Mourinho tells the media that Eden Hazard is the most fouled player in the league: "You could say that Eden hazard is fouled more than any other player in the Premier League. Eden Hazard is still the same naive boy who was playing at youth level and for him to go to the floor needs to be something really nasty. He is getting no protection, that is the reality."

With Courtois carrying an injury, Mourinho says that he will treat selecting his keeper like any other position: "I can decide with the keepers in the same way as I decide with the other players. My decision against Newcastle was simple because a 100% fit Petr Cech is better than an 85% fit Thibaut Courtois."

Mourinho is asked about Garry Monk's impact with Swansea, and he admits he is a fan: "Garry Monk's work has been magnificent. He received a good team but to keep that stability and quality has been brilliant."

Chelsea will play before Man City this weekend, meaning they can already secure top spot before the champions play on Sunday. However, Mourinho does not think this is necessarily an advantage: "I don't think the big boys feel the pressure. The result of others doesn't affect, we both have jobs to do."

John Terry is closing in on Frank Lampard's record for most Chelsea appearances, and Mourinho says: "
"Chelsea is the only club of his career. He has had a couple of surgeries which meant he missed games. Frank Lampard started his career with West Ham and is now having games with Manchester City so I think it is normal."

That's all from a fairly chatty Jose Mourinho today, so make sure you join us again tomorrow to find out if Chelsea can extend their lead at the top of the table. Until then, thanks for joining me this afternoon. Goodbye.

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Oscar of Chelsea celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Chelsea and Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge on January 10, 2015
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