Jose Mourinho insists he is looking forward to working with Chelsea’s technical director Michael Emenalo as he gets down to work in his second stint as Blues boss.
PA PhotosJose Mourinho now considers himself “The Happy One” after returning to Chelsea
Emenalo’s presence on the Chelsea technical staff has long been the subject of debate, with some in the media suggesting the Nigerian’s close relationship with Blues owner Roman Abramovich has unsettled previous Blues managers.
Yet Mourinho has spoken warmly about the set-up he is walking into as he prepares to work alongside with Emenalo.
“Michael is working well,” said Mourinho. “It’s important you have around you some structures that can deliver the best possible information, especially the scouting area is a very difficult area for a person like me.
“I cannot travel because I have more important things to do inside the club. I also cannot travel because if I do, everybody knows I’m travelling. Everybody knows who I am, everybody knows the player I’m looking for, everybody starts with big speculation.
“You cannot just find a player when he is 24, 25, 26 and he is in the best moment of his career. You have to start before, you cannot do it without a structure.
“The club are doing good work there. Michael and his staff will provide me with the kind of information I need.”
Mourinho went on to suggest many of the foundations he put in place during his first spell as Chelsea boss are still serving the club well.
“I heard one manager here, I think it was (Luis Felipe) Scolari, that when he came to Chelsea he was saying; ‘I never saw a club with such organisation in the analysis department,” he added. “I never saw such a group of players with a working ethic.’
“That was two or three years after me and I said to myself and my assistants that even though he never mentioned my name, this was a big compliment.
“He doesn’t have to mention my name because it was my working ethic, it’s my group of players, it’s my department of analysis and preparation of matches. It’s my work, that’s success.”
