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Jose Mourinho says he does not feel pressure in his job and that if Chelsea sack him he will easily find another club.
The Chelsea coach, preparing for tomorrow night's last 16 return leg against Porto at Stamford Bridge, is adamant he is under no extra pressure to win another trophy this season.
Mourinho's own future has also been the subject of intense speculation this season with rumours persisting that he will quit Stamford Bridge in the summer instead of seeing out his contract.
Indeed, he already appears to have mapped out his future if Abramovich should decide to call time on his managerial tenure.
Mourinho declared: "I am not under any pressure to win something else because the only pressure I am under is from the pressure I put on myself.
"I don't accept pressure from other people. I don't get depressed. If the club decides to sack me because of bad results, that's part of the game.
"If that happens, I will be a millionaire and I will get another club a couple of months later. I cannot win every week, every year. But I have family, my kids are healthy, I have a lot of friends, I have a good life - pressure of what? I put myself under pressure, just like I did when playing three against three in the street as a kid. I like to win - but pressure? No way."
But Mourinho is desperate for his players to take the credit for keeping their hopes of a quadruple alive during a season when they have lost three of their most influential players for long periods.
Mourinho added: "I am not saying it is a miracle or something like superman but my players deserve respect and credit.
"I have to give credit to Michael Essien for the way he's been playing in a position that is not his normal one.
"I have to give credit to Ricardo Carvalho for playing with a partner who is not a central defender. I have to give credit to Frank Lampard because he is playing every game with the added responsibility of wearing the captain's armband.
"I have to give more credit to Lassana Diarra because he is a young boy playing at this level at this moment. I have to give more credit to Petr Cech because he came back after his head injury and looks better than he was before. I have to credit the attackers for playing every game with no rotation like last season.
"What gives us motivation is the fact that we feel we are doing a very good job. You can say or think that because we are second in the Premiership, our work is not so good as it was in the previous seasons.
"But a normal team, with a normal squad, without the atmosphere we have in our dressing room, and having suffered our circumstances, would not be in our position.
"So to be where we are in the Champions League after getting through a very difficult group with Barcelona and Werder Bremen, and without Petr Cech and John Terry for half-a-season and Joe Cole for the whole season, I am more than happy with the players.
"Our supporters know the effort and commitment the team is putting in during every game. That is the motivation. This team deserves to win, and not just the league cup, this team deserves to win more.
"My confidence and motivation is that at the end of the season, my players will have another cup in their hands and they have got something for the effort they have put in."
Mourinho is keen to avoid hyping up tomorrow's return leg against his former club after a 1-1 draw in the first.
Mourinho said: "I respect our opponents and I expect they will be strong but I have good players and I expect that will perform well.
"I don't think it is an issue any more. One day I will play against Chelsea. I cannot make my career thinking about how I was once in this club or that club.
"I have to play the game without such emotions. This is just another game. I just want to be in the quarter-final."
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Source: ITV Sport |
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