LONDON, December 4- Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has once again moved to temper expectations following renewed suggestions that his side could go unbeaten for the entire season.
The Blues boss is wary of his players falling into the trap of focusing on their unbeaten run as he feels a change in mentality could see them settle for draws, rather than risk conceding a goal by going for all three points.
For Mourinho, the bottom line is how many points they accrue this season. He wants his players to remain focused on claiming maximum points every time they take to the field, even if it means they suffer a few defeats along the way.
When asked if his side was looking to emulate Arsenal’s famed ‘Invincibles’ by going the entire season unbeaten, Mourinho said: “We are not playing for that. If against Spurs we have a 0-0 with 20 minutes to go, we are not going to play for the 0-0 to be undefeated after 21 matches. No way.
“If you play for that, if that is one objective, maybe you draw so many matches, you don’t take risks to try and win matches. You are happy just to be undefeated.
“If you get 10 draws, you get 10 points. If you win five and lose five, you make 15 points. We are going to play matches to win. And, sometimes, we will lose. I’d prefer 15 points and lost matches than 10 points and being undefeated.”
Meanwhile, the Portuguese tactician also took the opportunity to highlight the fact that the title race is all but over.
He also made it abundantly clear that silverware would be the only true measure of success come the end of the current campaign.
He added: “We don’t put ourselves in that position, of being arrogant to say we are going to win. We don’t do that.
“All we say is we’re playing very well, we are getting results, we believe in ourselves, we are very happy with what we’re doing.
“The measure of success in football is made by the trophies you win. We have to try to transform the quality of our work and performances into cups.
“There’s a long way to go. Teams that are 10, 12, 14, 15 points behind – they are not out of the title race. I don’t think so.”
