Mourinho in no hurry to gives Blues a makeover

CHELSEA manager Jose Mourinho says he is in no rush to buy players because most of his squad want to stay, though Scott Parker still has to make up his mind whether to play second fiddle to Claude Makelele.

“I am not worried (about the transfer market) because we have our group... They wantto stay together. Everythingis in our hands,” he said yesterday.

The Portuguese coach who took the London side to their first championship for 50 years in his first season in charge, said he wanted to keep 24-year-old Parker but he understood the defensive midfielder wanted to play more games.

Parker, signed in January 2004 for £10 million from Charlton, played only 11 times last season and missed the last four months of the campaign with a broken foot.

“It’s normal that he wants to play regularly. He wants to be in the national team and he can only be in the national team if he plays regularly,” Mourinho said.

“But at this moment Makelele looks unbeatable for the place. If Parker is ready to wait that’s fantastic for Chelsea. If he’s not ready we have to think about a loan, we have to think about selling.”

British newspapers have linked Parker with a move to Everton, whose fourth place finish earned them a Champions League qualifying spot.

Mourinho, who was speaking at the launch of a television series aimed at discovering a new young talent who would be offered an academy contract with Chelsea, said his close season priority was a left-back.

He said Wayne Bridge, who broke his ankle last February, would not be fit for the start of the season. Newspapers say Chelsea are chasing Athletic Bilbao’s Asier Del Horno.

Chelsea are also in the market for a striker after sacking Adrian Mutu last year for drug taking. Serbia forward Mateja Kezman, signed last season from PSV Eindhoven, has also failed to find form in the Premier League.

The squad, which also won the League Cup this year, are due to return on July 6 for pre-season training.

Mourinho said that they would feel extra motivation for next season because they had failed to reach the Champions League final, going out to a single goal in the semi-finals against Liverpool.