Chelsea should be more than five points ahead of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League, according to a morose Jose Mourinho who reluctantly returned to speak to the media on Friday after refusing to talk last week.
.
Mourinho, asked why he looked so glum, told reporters: “You know why I am here, so you cannot expect me to be super-happy to be here. I am here because I have to be here.”
.
Asked whether he refused to talk to the media last week because the FA sanctioned striker Diego Costa for stamping on Emre Can in the League Cup semifinal, Mourinho gave a typically cryptic answer.
.
“If you want you can make a silence very noisy,” he said.
.
“It depends what you want to do. You could make a noise with my silence because you know the reason for my silence. If I was a journalist I could make lots of words.”
.
Asked if he stayed away just because of the three-match ban the FA imposed on Costa, he replied: “Not just.”
.
Asked how he reflected on the ban, he replied: “I don’t reflect. Because maybe I am punished if I reflect so I don’t even think about it because maybe they can read my reflection.”
.
Mourinho also seemed unhappy that Chelsea were only five points clear of champions Manchester City after last week’s 1-1 draw between the top two at Stamford Bridge.
.
“I feel the distance could be much bigger, because if I analyse the last five, six or seven matches, then we could, we should, have a bigger difference.”
.
Chelsea, the league’s highest scorers, travel to Aston Villa who have scored fewer goals than anyone else and none in their last six matches.
.
Chelsea start as the overwhelming favourites, but had Willian and Ramires sent off at Villa Park last season when they went down to a surprise 1-0 defeat.
.
“Some matches are impossible to win and you have to be smart enough to understand that was one of them,” he said.
.
New signing Juan Cuadrado, the Colombian international winger who joined from Fiorentina for £23 million last month, could make his debut at Villa Park.
.
“We don’t need him in goal and we don’t need him as a central defender because he is too small,” Mourinho said. “After that, he can play everywhere.
.
“I think he can play against Villa unless the Premier League or the FA say there are some rules to stop him.”
Support InfoStride News' Credible Journalism: Only credible journalism can guarantee a fair, accountable and transparent society, including democracy and government. It involves a lot of efforts and money. We need your support. Click here to Donate