Branislav Ivanovic: 'It's a pleasure to play under Jose Mourinho'

Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic has claimed that it is a "big pleasure" to play under manager Jose Mourinho.

The Portuguese coach returned to Stamford Bridge over the summer after enjoying a successful spell at the club from 2004 to 2007.

"It's a big pleasure to play under Jose," he told the club's official website. "It's always a great motivation from his side.

"We have to push ourselves to improve and we have to motivate ourselves for every single game because he expects that of us, and the club expects that of us.

"It's a big pleasure but there's still a lot of hard work to do. We've played some good games; we've had some defeats, too. The team and our performances can improve, we can do better and I think we'll do it after this international break."

Chelsea return to Premier League action on October 19 when they entertain Cardiff City.