Give me Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Didier Drogba says Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho

Jose Mourinho is ready to crank up the pressure in a bid to bring out the killer instinct in his Chelsea players like he did with Didier Drogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, writes Ian Winrow.

The Blues' manager admits he is still working on the mentality of his squad to instil the ruthless edge that marks out champions.

And with Mourinho insistent the title race is a six-way contest, he believes the manager who masters the mind games with his players will eventually come out on top.

The manager - whose side are at Sunderland on Wednesday - said: "I like to put pressure on them, yes, but you have to analyse the players you're working with.

"I gave Didier as an example. When I put real pressure on him, the animal was always coming out.

"Ibrahimovic at Inter - exactly the same. When I put real pressure on him, I knew that the answer was coming.

"It depends on the players' profiles. Some react in a very good way. Some don't. I have players who have told me not to criticise them in front of the other guys because, 'It's not good for my self-esteem.' I've had everything.

Mourinho admits he needs to fire things up at Stamford Bridge as it's three years since Chelsea were last English champions.

He added: "One of the things is to make the pressure of fighting for the title to be something natural, something that players accept in a positive way, not in a negative way.

"We have here some people who won the title before, but they've not won it for quite a long time. When you don't do that for quite a long time, you forget it.

"We've also got players who were playing in clubs not used to fighting for titles, clubs who'd do fantastic one day and see what would happen the next.

"That pressure to try and be top of the league, knowing that every little detail and every point can make a difference."

But the Portuguese has also turned up the heat on Manuel Pellegrini's Manchester City, insisting they should be clear favourites for the title.

He said: "The squad is absolutely amazing. They have solutions and solutions and solutions.

"If you ask me which team has more ammunition, I have to try and be honest. I have to apologise to the others in case they're not happy with what I say, but City are the team with more ammunition."

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Interesting that's he's being so very open and direct regarding some of his player's personalities, especially the sensitive ones.

I wonder who told Jose not to criticise them in front of their teammates? No one likes to be made a fool of in front of people of course, but being a top professional they should be able to handle it.

To be honest I think what Jose is saying is that those who don't like to be openly criticised need to toughen up mentally.

 

He's given Drogba and Ibra as examples of players who react well to pressure and they are two of the best players he has ever managed.

 

I might be reading too deeply into it but I think it's about wanting to eliminate any mental weaknesses the team might have. 

I think you are right mate

Me too. 

To be honest I think what Jose is saying is that those who don't like to be openly criticised need to toughen up mentally.

 

He's given Drogba and Ibra as examples of players who react well to pressure and they are two of the best players he has ever managed.

 

I might be reading too deeply into it but I think it's about wanting to eliminate any mental weaknesses the team might have. 

 

Spot on. 

 

"That pressure to try and be top of the league, knowing that every little detail and every point can make a difference." This line I loved. Too often post Jose we have been happy to just let things slip thinking it's ok we'll make it up later. 

 

When you think of Aguero winning the league for City with literally the last kick of the season, that is how close it is in the Premier League. I sometimes think players (Luiz comes to mind) don't appreciate how one error can be the difference between winning or losing the title. When Grant was manager we conceded injury time equalisers against Wigan and Bolton in the last six weeks, two wins and we win the title. Every minute counts and if you don't have that you don't win league titles. 

 

This kind of thing is why I'm happy Jose is back. Forget benching Mata or whatever else, that tenacity is needed and he brings it.

Edited December 4, 201312 yr by Spiller86

Well said Spiller, even when things were going well we were prone to the odd brain fart. This thread reminded me of the time we were beating Bolton 4-0 under Hiddink with 20 minutes left and nearly f**ked it up:

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7978838.stm

Looks like a bit of a public kick up the arse for some certain players, he`s definitely getting a point over in that conversation. Good.

Spot on.

"That pressure to try and be top of the league, knowing that every little detail and every point can make a difference." This line I loved. Too often post Jose we have been happy to just let things slip thinking it's ok we'll make it up later.

When you think of Aguero winning the league for City with literally the last kick of the season, that is how close it is in the Premier League. I sometimes think players (Luiz comes to mind) don't appreciate how one error can be the difference between winning or losing the title. When Grant was manager we conceded injury time equalisers against Wigan and Bolton in the last six weeks, two wins and we win the title. Every minute counts and if you don't have that you don't win league titles.

This kind of thing is why I'm happy Jose is back. Forget benching Mata or whatever else, that tenacity is needed and he brings it.[/quote

Stating the bleeding obvious is Jose, you would think our millionaire players would have the gumption to know this already.

Edited December 4, 201312 yr by downthefront