Mourinho unfazed by Chelsea’s poor pre-season

By

Manager Jose Mourinho says poor pre-season results are of little concern as Chelsea prepare to face Swansea City on Saturday.

The Blues romped to last term’s Premier League title with three games remaining, but failed to win any of their five pre-season games in 90 minutes.

Penalty shoot-out victories against Paris St Germain and Barcelona were the only successes in a run that also included defeats against Arsenal and Fiorentina.

“I like to win,” Mourinho said prior to facing the Swans in an evening kick-off at Stamford Bridge.

“There is no point to say it doesn’t matter, but it is also true that it is not the most important thing and on some of these matches we didn’t even try to win.

Chelsea lost to Arsenal in Sunday's Community Shield match at Wembley
Chelsea lost to Arsenal in Sunday’s Community Shield match at Wembley

“Against Fiorentina, the point was to give minutes to the players, to protect some.

“But if you ask do I want to create better play better, defend better and score better, then yes I want that.”

Mourinho also warned that a fiercely competitive league meant it was possible for Chelsea to have a good season and still finish trophy-less.

“I really don’t know [what a good season is] because it is not just about you but is about the others,” he said.

“You can have a good season and somebody is better than you. And I don’t consider that a failure.

“A bad season is if you don’t perform. A bad season is if you are so bad that in October you are 15 points behind the leader.

“A bad season is if you arrive in March and have no chance to win anything.”

Follow West London Sport on Twitter
Find us on Facebook