Mourinho won’t quit, blames referee for defeat

Jose Mourinho: Not planning on a January spree

Jose Mourinho: Not planning on a January spree

Jose Mourinho insists he won’t quit as Chelsea boss after opting to blame referees rather than his own defenders for their latest defeat.

Chelsea squandered a one-goal lead to lose 3-1 to Saints on Saturday afternoon, leaving Mourinho’s 16th in the Premier League and 10 points off current leaders Manchester City.

Chelsea have now lost four Premier League games so far this season, and six in 12 games in all competitions, while no side has ever finished higher than fifth in the league after such a poor start.

But Mourinho reacted in a bullish manner to the press after a second home defeat of the season, blaming the defeat on the referee’s refusal to give a penalty to his side at 1-1.

“Look, I think you know me and I don’t run away from my responsibilities,” Mourinho began. “First, I want to say because we are in such a big moment you should not be afraid to be honest.

“The referees are afraid to give decisions for Chelsea. At 1-1, it is a huge penalty and once again we don’t get. If the FA wants to punish me they can. They don’t punish other managers. My players deserve it and the fans deserve it.

“Referees are afraid to give decisions for Chelsea, why because there is always a question mark and we are always punished.

“Clear penalties are not given. Even in the Champions League in a match we lose 2-1, we are not given a penalty in the last minute.

“The penalty in this game is crucial because my team, at the moment, the first negative thing that happens, they collapse.

“The penalty was a giant penalty and after that the team lost even more confidence.

“If the club wants to sack me they have to sack me because I am not running away. To be champions now is very difficult because the distance is so much but I am convinced we will finish in the top four.

“It is a crucial moment in the history of this club because if they sack me they sack the best manager this club has ever had. The message is that the results are the fault of the manager.

“This is a moment for everybody to assume their responsibilities and stick together.”

Mourinho was asked just one question by the interview to elicit all of the response above, with the Portuguese signing off with a simple “thank you, goodbye”.