UNITED KINGDOM: SOCCER / FOOTBALL - Press conference by Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho as his team train ahead of their second leg Champions League match against Porto

Mourinho told reporters on Monday (March 5) it was irrelevant that Tuesday's (March 6) opponents were the Portuguese club where he cemented his world-wide reputation by winning the Champions League in 2004. He said: "One day I will play against Chelsea and you know, you cannot make your career thinking about 'I was in this club, I was in that club.' You have to be, you have to be at your club, you have to play the game without special emotions. This is just another game. It's Porto, it could be another one, and the...I just want to be in the quarter final. I don't, I hope you can understand what I say, the meaning of what I say, my desire is not to beat Porto. My desire is to be in the quarter final." Recent reports have suggested that Chelsea's Russian chairman, Roman Abramovich, is growing impatient with the failure to win Europe's top club trophy. With Chelsea nine points behind Manchester United in the English Premier League and seemingly out of contention for a third successive title, the pressure is growing on Mourinho, despite the club's recent Carling Cup victory. But the manager said he did not feel any pressure to win major silverware this season. "If the club decides to sack me because of bad results is, that's part of the game, that's part of the game. If that happens I will be a millionaire and I will get another club a couple of months later." Mourinho admitted that Chelsea had a better chance of Champions League glory than winning the Premiership title, because the knockout stage of the tournament meant all 16 clubs were equally well placed. "These 16 teams, everybody has exactly the same chances of winning it and in the Premiership the two teams in this moment, Man United is in front so because they are in front they have more chances than us but Chelsea is alive." Chelsea captain John Terry will not be fit to face Porto IN Tuesday's crucial match, which is nicely poised at 1-1. Terry is still recovering from the head injury he sustained in his club's 2-1 Carling Cup victory over Arsenal. Terry was accidentally kicked in the face by Arsenal's Abou Diaby during the final in Cardiff on February 25. He lost consciousness and was carried from the field, then taken to the University Hospital of Wales after the second-half incident. The England captain had only just recovered from damaged ankle ligaments, which he suffered in the first leg of the Champions League tie against Porto. He was carried off seven minutes into the draw in Portugal but recovered quicker than medical staff expected. Star striker Didier Drogba, who was last week crowned African Player of the Year, said he believed Chelsea's away goal in the tie was crucial. "The last game was difficult for me but the most important thing is that we scored there, one goal, and at home no matter if they are great players we have to win." Drogba has scored 29 goals so far this season.

ITN Source | March 6, 2007

Tags:. .despite. .pressure. .injury. .staff. .soccer