Mourinho: What everybody wants

Ahead of a fixture Jose Mourinho describes as always special, the manager gave team news and commented on recent transfer speculation.
Mourinho was speaking at his conference to preview
the weekend’s standout Premier League contest, with the significance of the game against Louis van Gaal’s side reflected by the packed media room at Cobham.
Looking first at injury news, Mourinho said Loic Remy, who picked up a minor muscular injury last weekend, had a better than 50 per cent chance of being fit for the game tomorrow.
The only definite absentee tomorrow is Diego Costa. The boss provided an update on his situation.
‘He is progressing very well,’ reported Mourinho. ‘I think he has a chance for next weekend.
‘As I have said our target is for Diego to play the last four matches, and Arsenal is the sixth match before the end, so if he doesn’t play against Arsenal or Leicester it’s not a problem because our focus was on four, but things are going so well that we think he has a chance to play next weekend.’
Today Van Gaal announced injury problems of his own - Michael Carrick, Marcos Rojo, Daley Blind and Phil Jones are out, while Jonny Evans is suspended - but when put to Mourinho this would be advantageous to Chelsea, our manager said the strength of Manchester United’s squad renders it irrelevant.
‘Their squad is amazing, in numbers and players, and in experience and solutions.
‘Every week I have in my office not the team I am going to play against, but I have on a big screen the squad and all the options, and this week when I arrived in the room for the first time in the week I realised what they have, and what they have is amazing.
‘To play against Man United is to play against one of the biggest clubs in the world,’ continued Mourinho as the questions turned to tomorrow’s fixture between the teams in first and third place.
‘It’s to play against one of the best teams in the Premier League, and I think this is what everybody wants. It is a special fixture. It’s a big match.
'This week I was not worried about motivating players or demanding players to be focused on the game and the opponent because there is no need. It’s an easy job.'
One man who has started each of our 31 league games to date is Eden Hazard. The Belgian, along with Diego Costa, was nominated for the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award yesterday. In each of his three seasons in west London he has been nominated for both that main prize and the Young Player of the Year award. One journalist wanted to know what our no.10 has added to his game this season.
‘Consistency,’ was Mourinho’s immediate response. ‘One thing is talent, and to bring that talent to the game but not regularly, and another thing is to be consistent. He has been very consistent since the beginning of the season.
'It's the league we want to win, it’s not the player of the year or the manager of the year. Obviously on top of collective ambitions, a player deserves something special and when it comes from his fellow players it means a bit more, so if he gets that, great.’
As well as saying everyone at the club is happy to see former player Juan Mata doing well of late, ahead of the Spaniard’s first return to Stamford Bridge since moving to the North-West, Mourinho rubbished reports linking Oscar with a move away this summer.
‘Of course he will stay. He just signed a contract a few months ago. He is one of the players with a long-term contract, a boy who is 23 that Chelsea bought three years ago.
‘Obviously he’s in the best period of his career; obviously we don’t want to sell.’
Patrick Bamford has enjoyed an excellent season on loan at Middlesbrough - he was today named on a three-man shortlist to be the Championship Player of the Year - and the striker’s name was brought up with regards to the possibility he will link up with our first team next season. Mourinho is not looking that far ahead.
‘He has a chance to be promoted with Middlesbrough. That’s why he is there, to develop himself and to help Middlesbrough.
‘They can be promoted now, or in the play-offs, or not, but we think these last three matches and the possibility of an extra two or three in the play-offs are very important for his development. This is the only thing that matters.’