Mourinho sorry for condemning Chelsea support
APOLOGETIC Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has admitted he overstepped the mark in condemning the Stamford Bridge atmosphere at the weekend but insists his motives were borne out of affection for the club.
Mourinho angered some of the Chelsea faithful by complaining of a lack of noise from the stands during their narrow 2-1 Premier League victory against Harry Redknapp’s Queens Park Rangers on Saturday.
Chelsea’s away support was spared criticism ahead of the Blues’ trip to face Slovenian side NK Maribor, with Mourinho intent on setting the record straight before their Champions League clash.
“Maybe I go a little bit too far,” said Mourinho. “But everybody knows how much I love the club. They know how much I want it to improve and how much I want to be part of the club in the future.
“Even a moment of criticism has to be analysed with different eyes, with the eyes of somebody who knows why I came back to Chelsea, why I’m here with my heart and why I want to stay for a long time.”
Victory will see Mourinho’s side book their place in the knockout stages should Sporting Lisbon fail to beat Schalke in the other Group G clash. Chelsea were without leading marksman Diego Costa but still hammered the Slovenian champions 6-0 at Stamford Bridge in the last round of fixtures, with Didier Drogba set to be reinstated as the Spaniard is eased back into action after a hamstring problem.