Jose Mourinho has admitted that facing Manchester City is not easy following the weekend defeat to Sevilla, but promises that he will have a team in place.
The Portuguese declared on Saturday night after watching Real Madrid lost 1-0 at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan that he ‘had no team’, heavily criticising his players for their performance.
With Roberto Mancini’s City on the horizon this midweek, it gives Mourinho just three days in which to turn things around.
“In building a team, you must prioritise the moment and the situation in which you currently live,” he reflected in this afternoon’s pre-match Press conference.
“If you are in a fantastic moment, then you can prioritise and make some adjustments, but if you are not playing well then you have to try to find the things that you are missing.
“I will try to act and give my team the things that they are currently missing.
“My conviction is that tomorrow we will have a team, compact, united, in which the whole is most important, where everyone wants to work for everyone and where people are going to be on top of their personal and professional principles. I think we will be at the top of our level.
“We will miss the confidence and self-esteem because it is not easy to play against Manchester City when you come from a bad game where people know we have played terribly, but as a team, our level of ambition is currently at its highest.”
Mourinho was asked further about the possible change of attitude to come from his team for tomorrow.
“I think all of us, at this level, we have won things and been successful in our careers. Everyone has a professional situation and an economic stability and we should not be worried about expecting the right reaction from the players or not.
“We should be the first and only ones to put pressure on ourselves. For me, nobody pressurises or motivates me because I do it myself.
“No criticism will make me stronger because I am the first to criticise when I do not do well. And I think that the players are the same. They automatically criticise themselves, aware of their privileged position.
“The line-up will not be very different from Sevilla and I won’t intend to bring in a player who in my opinion may not be in very good condition.
“The starting XI will be the one I think is best to try and win a tough game against an opponent who has the highest level of players. The team is well thought out – I have been thinking for the past two days.”
The Portuguese had nothing but good things to say for this Tuesday’s visiting side Manchester City.
“City began to spend money and buy good players. With Roberto [Mancini] they have done good work, buying good players and building a great team.
“They have won the League, the Community Shield… Sooner or later they can win the Champions League if they continue this way.
“I know we can beat them, but for us City is in a group of important teams that are candidates to win the competition and are worthy opponents in the Champions League.”
The Coach was also asked of his current standing in the dressing room.
“It is impossible to improve on the player-Coach relationship that I have. I think that there are no doubts.
“I consider myself responsible [for the drop in form] because I have not been able to motivate my staff and I repeat that in my team, we all win and when we lose, it is my responsibility.
“If there are any doubts then they are ended now.
“What I said in the Sevilla newsroom I had told to the players before, not after. In football, everything gets forgotten, football is today and tomorrow, but titles are forgotten.
“In football, yesterday is history and I have not been able to get my people mentally prepared.
“But, my relationship with the squad could not be better. I have an excellent relationship with everyone and I feel loved.”
