Mourinho asks Chelsea to show killer instinct

BASEL (AFP) – Jose Mourinho has called on his
Chelsea stars to show their killer instinct as
the Blues look to clinch qualification for the
last 16 of the Champions League at Basel on
Tuesday.
Mourinho’s team can guarantee their place in
the knock-out stages with a draw in
Switzerland, while a victory would ensure they
are certain to finish top of Group E ahead of
their final fixture against Steaua Bucharest.
That clash with Steaua comes in the middle of
a busy December for Chelsea and Mourinho
would prefer to be able to rest players when
the Romanians visit Stamford Bridge.
With that in mind, Mourinho on Monday
challenged his players to show they can finish
off Basel, who are four points behind Chelsea
in third place.
“It’s a period I like,” Mourinho said of the
hectic fixture December schedule. “It’s a
period where I think only the braves can
survive because it’s hard.
“We go into the Christmas period and the
accumulation of matches is so high, but we do
it as a special group with a special mentality,
enjoying the situation, forgetting we don’t have
a Christmas (break) like the Spanish, Italian
and German players.
“I enjoyed the busy period when I was in
England and I missed it when I was in Spain
and Italy.
“Now I’m back I want to enjoy it, I want the
players to enjoy it, and we need a special
mentality to cope with that situation.
“Nine matches and one of them is the match
against Steaua. That’s our motivation for
tomorrow (Tuesday), to try to kill the situation
in the group phase and give us a little bit of
space in December; instead of having nine real,
competitive matches, we only have eight.”

Mourinho looks in the mood for the battle
ahead after trimming his hair to a ultra-short
crew cut during the recent international break.
The former Real Madrid boss borrowed hair
clippers from Chelsea striker Fernando Torres,
cut his hair himself and then sent a picture to
his wife for her approval before heading home.
Asked why he cut his hair, Mourinho said:
“Some people can’t do what I did. In a couple
of months I’ll have hair again. Some other
people cannot do it.
“I decided to do it. I asked Fernando to give
me his machine and I did it myself in front of
the mirror. It’s nice and cheap.
“Mrs Mourinho, I sent a picture before I
arrived at home to see if I could go in. Yes, no
problem.”