Jose
Mourinho says all his players were happy to travel to Israel - claiming 'I
didn't have a Graeme Le Saux'.
Le Saux - who was critical of Mourinho when he clashed with Eva Carneiro
earlier this season - was one of six Chelsea players who opted not to
participate in their UEFA Cup clash with Hapoel Tel-Aviv in 2001 because of
security fears.
Chelsea are back in Israel for the first time since that visit, and they
take on Maccabi Tel-Aviv on Tuesday night in the Champions League with as
strong a squad as Mourinho can muster.
"I didn't have one single problem inside of the squad. I didn't have a
Graeme Le Saux. I had everybody without fears, just wanting to come," said
Mourinho.
"I had even a player who maybe tomorrow or after tomorrow, his wife is
having a baby and he's here to play, because he knows how important it is
for us."
Mourinho is pleased to be able to focus on the match this time around, with
the first trip having seen a weakened Chelsea side lose 2-0 and eventually
go out of the competition 3-1 on aggregate.
"The best way is to focus on football and the happiness you have to play
football," he added. "The responsibility you have to play football and (to)
leave security questions to people who know more than we do.
Asked who the expectant father was, Mourinho said: "He's one of the 20 with
babies, because the factory is working well. Every two months we have a new
baby."
Midfielder Nemanja Matic said it was not him, briefly joking: "Not me, I
have two already, so I have to rest a little bit."
Chelsea bounced back from a run of three Premier League defeats to beat
Norwich 1-0 on Saturday, and Tuesday's game could see them through to the
last-16 in Europe with a victory and a Porto win over Dynamo Kiev.
"We are focused on what we have to do," Mourinho added. "We are very
disappointed with the bad results we had for a significant period of time
and we need to keep getting results for our happiness, for our pride, and
obviously for the people that support us, Chelsea fans."
The Blues beat Maccabi Tel Aviv 4-0 at Stamford Bridge in September, but
there will be no complacency, with Mourinho reminding his players of last
season's draw in Maribor, which came soon after a 6-0 home win.
Mourinho said: "I spoke with the players this morning and it was simple. I
gave the example of last season against Maribor. We put ourselves in
trouble. The attitude was not the best in Slovenia and we paid the price of
that."
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