Jose Mourinho: 'Eva Carneiro and Jon Fearn will not be on the Chelsea bench on Sunday but that doesn't mean they cannot be in the future'

Chelsea manager leaves the door open for return

(Getty Images)

Jose Mourinho has left the door open for club doctor Eva Carneiro and physio Jon Fearn to return to the Chelsea bench.

The Chelsea manager greatly scaled back the responsibilities of the pair after the draw with Swansea on Sunday, telling reporters after the game that the pair were "impulsive and naive" and showed they did not "understand the game" as it left the Blues with just nine men.

Mourinho then axed the pair from the bench for the Manchester City match on Sunday and said that they would not be allowed to travel with the first-team or stay in the hotel.

Jose Mourinho confronts Eva Carneiro after the incident at Stamford Bridge (Rex Features)

The Portuguese has come in for great criticism since making the decision, with various bodies unimpressed with the decision - one that he stood by before leaving the door open for the pair to return.

"First of all I want to say I have a fantastic medical department led by Dr Paco Biosca, I have a good relationship with them," he said at his press conference.

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"With more than a dozen professionals between doctors, physio, masseurs - they tell me they have never been praised as much as they have done by me in the last couple of years.

"Normally when things go well managers keep it to themselves, I have praised them lots of times in the last couple of years and they don't forget that. They also told me that we have had disagreements during that period, we need disagreements to improve. We work together and we improve together, That is the way we do things. It is a relationship that is open to disagreement."

"Jon Fearn and Dr Carneiro will not be on the bench on Sunday but that doesn't mean Sunday is the rest of our season or the rest of our careers. They will not be on the bench on Sunday. That's my decision, my responsibility. But that doesn't mean they cannot be in the future.

"For some people, the bench is very important, for others it's not important. The bench is my responsibility, yes, and it's my decision and it's nobody else's decision."

Carneiro joined Chelsea in February 2009, having previously worked at the British Olympic Medical Institute and with England Women's Football and UK Athletics.

The doctor thanked people for their support on Sunday, posting on Facebook: "I would like to thank the general public for their overwhelming support. Really very much appreciated."

The post has attracted 40,000 likes to date and reports suggest Carneiro is seeking legal advice.

"The bench is my responsibility. When you ask me, it's my decision. Every week I make a decision about the bench. Every week with 25 players, 11 on the pitch, seven on the bench... seven of them are not even on the bench.

"I have seven assistants - only four can go on the bench. I have to choose three of them. Te medical department, only two go to the bench, and we are more than a dozen. It's important for some to be on the bench; for others it is more important their contribution, what they do behind the scenes, what they do for the team."

Mourinho was asked whether he regrets his actions over Carneiro's demotion: "You can take your conclusions as you want. It's an open relationship, it's open to disagreements and criticism.

"If a player has a bad reaction with a colleague, to any member of the staff, football is football and everything in the match can be different."

Mourinho was keen to swiftly move on to other matters but did refute any claims that the situation will hang over his players going into the game.

"If you want to talk to me about football I'm here, if you want to talk to me about other things I'm not here," he said. "If somebody thinks that a disagreement between two members of the medical staff and the manager can affect the week, it is somebody that does not have a clue what football is and what preparation for matches is."