Mourinho to stay at Chelsea if backed

(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-01-19 08:53

LONDON, Jan 18 - Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said on Thursday he wishes to stay at the Premier League champions if he feels he has sufficient support from the club.

Media reports have talked of tension between the Portuguese coach, owner Roman Abramovich and chief executive Peter Kenyon over transfer policy and the poor form of Ukraine striker Andriy Shevchenko.

"If the club supports me, I don't see any reason not to be here," Mourinho told reporters at a launch of Chelsea's corporate responsibility report at the House of Commons in Westminster.

Speaking on the sidelines of the event, Mourinho said: "Support is not about money, support is not about new players, you can feel support and have no players."

Mourinho, who won the Premier League in his first two seasons and took Porto to Champions League glory, said Chelsea's reluctance to pay for new players in the January transfer window did not mean he lacks backing.

"It does not mean that the club does not support me, it does not mean that I do not feel support from the club."

In a separate interview with Sky Sports, Mourinho said he loved life in London, his family was very settled and reiterated that he would see out his contract if the club backed him.



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