Jose
Mourinho says only one manager can "not achieve" and still avoid pressure,
in a clear dig at Arsene Wenger.
Mourinho last week maintained his unbeaten record over Wenger in competitive
fixtures as Chelsea beat Arsenal 2-0 in a fiery game, the consequences of
which are still being felt.
Chelsea will go to Newcastle on
Saturday Night Football without
Diego Costa in the wake of his retrospective suspension over a clash with
Laurent Koscielny, while Arsenal defender Gabriel was red-carded then
reprieved over the same incident.
Wenger and Mourinho, as so often, had differing views of that incident, and
at his pre-match press conference ahead of the weekend the Chelsea boss
could not resist reviving a long-running tradition of criticising his old
rival.
"I think in this country, only one manager is not under pressure," said
Mourinho, who has previously called Wenger "a specialist in failure" and
regularly passed comment on his longevity at Arsenal.
"Steve McClaren is under pressure, I am under pressure, Brendan Rodgers,
Manuel Pellegrini - everybody is under pressure. We cannot lose matches, we
cannot be below expectations, we have to reach our objectives.
"I have sympathy with them, and I believe they have also sympathy to myself
because it's a difficult job. There is one that for some reason is outside
that list. Good for him."
Asked to name a name, Mourinho declined but made it clear he meant Wenger by
referring to their pitchside clash at Stamford Bridge last season.
"You know," he said. "He can speak about the referees before the game, after
the game, can push people in the technical area, can cry in the morning, cry
in the afternoon and nothing happens. Can not achieve, keep the job, still
the king... it's a privilege."
Mourinho also cried double standards when asked to comment on Costa's
three-match ban, the second of which will be served this weekend.
He said: "If I answer I'm going to be suspended. I don't want to touch the
theme and everything that surrounds this situation.
"I don't comment and I tell you why. Some managers can speak about the
referee before the game and after the game and some others cannot. I am in
the list of the ones that cannot."
Mourinho did repeat his claim that the decision to rescind Gabriel's red
card, initially shown for a flick of the leg at Costa as the pair argued,
meant retaliation was now allowed.
And he reported a clean bill of health for his squad without saying whether
Loic Remy or Radamel Falcao would stand in for Costa on Tyneside.
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