Jose Mourinho press conference: Champions League not guaranteed for Chelsea, admits Mourinho ahead of Liverpool match

No club can be certain of finishing in the top four, whatever their size, argues under pressure Chelsea manager

Jose Mourinho (GETTY IMAGES)

Jose Mourinho has said that no club can guarantee Champions League football, whatever its size, as Chelsea try to get their season back on track against Liverpool tomorrow.

Chelsea have just 11 points from 10 games in the Premier League, and Mourinho has already admitted that preserving their Champions League status is more of an immediate priority now, rather than defending their title.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference at Cobham this morning, Mourinho pointed out that clubs as big as Chelsea have missed out on Champions League football before, as their size does not itself guarantee qualification.

“Chelsea is a big club, the club I chose to come to, a club I live in a very specific way,” Mourinho said. “Liverpool is a big club. Man United is a super big club. Last season Liverpool won nothing and didn't qualify for the Champions League, and they are still a big club. Two years ago United didn't qualify for the Champions League, not even the Europa League, won nothing, and they are still a monster club. That is football.”

Mourinho said that he did not see tomorrow’s game as a must-win because, for him, every match has that status. “In my career every game is a must-win,” he said. “I don't win always, but every game is a must win.”

Mourinho said that new Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was “one of the top managers in the world”. Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund famously knocked Mourinho’s Real Madrid out of the semi-finals of the 2013 Champions League.

“I'm not a close friend because football doesn't allow that, but he's a guy I like a lot,” Mourinho said. “We have good relations. As a manager, his work speaks (for itself). In spite of the last season, one to forget, I consider him one of the top managers in the world.”

Diego Costa and Pedro will undergo late fitness tests for tomororw’s game.