MOURINHO: BIG EMPATHY

On the day he returns to the Stamford
Bridge home dugout, Jose Mourinho has
expressed his desire to stay at the club
beyond the length of his current contract.
The Blues boss will oversee his first
competitive game since returning to the
club when Hull City visit Stamford Bridge
this afternoon, our first match of the
2013/14 Barclays Premier League
season.
Mourinho, unsurprisingly, is hopeful his
side can maintain our impressive record
on the opening day, when we haven't
been beaten since a 2-1 defeat at
Coventry City in 1998, but regardless of
what happens over the course of the next
few seasons, the Portuguese is hoping to
remain in west London for the long term.
'I'm happy to stay until the club is happy
and I'm happy,' he said. 'I don't see
myself in Spain coaching another club, I
don't see myself in Italy coaching another
club than Inter. I don't see myself in other
leagues because these are the leagues I
love the most and where I was most
curious to work in.
'In this country my connection is with
Chelsea Football Club. I will try to make
the club happy with me until the end of
my contract, which is a long contract,
and I hope at the end we both want to
stay together.
'When the club spoke with me it was an
immediate impact and an immediate
feeling that I wanted to come back, but a
decision is not made in two seconds, you
have to listen to the club's ideas.
'I listened a lot and the same analysis of
the team's profile we made together, or
they'd even made before me, to call
people back from loans, prepare other
young players in the Academy with the
next generation coming. For example,
next season [Nathaniel] Chalobah will
probably be with the first team squad and
so on. They need some stability and in
this moment the club are ready for that
and I am ready for that.
'When you work with big empathy, and at
this club we have big empathy in between
the different sectors of the club, I think the
trophies will arrive naturally, without
obsession, based on stability, so I'm
happy with that.'
The returning manager went on to explain
the role he believes the senior figures can
play in helping some of the less
experienced players realise their full
potential.
'I think this group, especially the older
players, are ready mentally to cope with
everything,' said Mourinho. 'They've
coped with everything at this club;
success, failure, changes in managers,
new players coming, other players going.
So from a mental point of view they can
cope with it.
'They are in a fantastic condition to
support the young kids. For the kids it's a
big change; [Marco] Van Ginkel goes
there (Stamford Bridge) and he doesn't
know where the changing room is, it's the
first time he's faced a situation like that in
the Premier League.
'With the older generation, they are here
because they have a lot to give as
players, but also to help these young
boys become top players.
'I think a coach is not a teacher, a
manager is not a teacher, but at the same
time you have to create empathy, you
have to praise people. Feedback is
important; you have to play with the
negative feedback and the positive
feedback, it's important.
'You have to teach them how to cope with
high-pressure situations and difficult
situations, I have to protect them and play
them when I think it's the right moment to
play them. It's more difficult if they are
playing in a tough moment for the team
so we have to think about it a lot because
it can be important for the future.'
While Mourinho has, so far, exuded a
calmer presence than he has at times in
the past, he admitted that his competitive
edge and will to win remain as strong as
ever.
'I think part of the stability is to show
them that I am a very stable person, but
you can be stable and emotional at the
same time,' he said. 'We were playing in a
friendly against Roma and I was
emotional in the way I was coaching my
team, and it was just a friendly in DC.
'If you are winning 2-0 you want to win
3-0; if you are losing 2-0 you believe you
can win the game 3-2 until the referee
stops the game. These are points which
help the kids build their character and
help the team create an identity.
'I'm emotional, yes. I was a bit when I
played here with Inter, but what I need to
control is emotions, I'm not nervous. I
want big matches; I don't like friendlies or
pre-season, this is what I've been waiting
for since I arrived.'