Trifling Mata irks ‘soft heart’ Jose

Jose Mourinho has claimed he has a “soft heart” and that it “hurts” him to leave Juan Mata out of the Chelsea team, while reiterating he wants to keep the Spanish midfielder.

It is understood the player’s agent met with Mourinho to seek assurances on his client’s future following Chelsea’s 3-0 win over Southampton, when Mata’s angry reaction to being substituted led to renewed speculation about a transfer away from Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea sources state he has been given those assurances.

“I try to do my job forgetting that I am a soft heart, and pretending that I am a hard heart,” Mourinho said. “Many times it hurts me, not with (Mata), many times hurts me with decisions I have to make but I think to do my job in the best way is to do it thinking the team is more important than any player. So when I have to make decisions I always try to be a cold one, icy, analyse a situation and try to make the best decision for the team, and forgetting... putting the person in the second level. But yes, it hurts me because the kid is a good kid, the kid works hard but of course it’s not an easy situation for him not to be playing every time.”

Mata’s attitude, as described by Mourinho, is at odds with a more worrying development he sees in the modern game.

The Chelsea manager was asked about Paul Lambert’s statement that many players are now more interested in finance rather than success, and that it has fed into the falling stock of the FA Cup.

“Some of them yes, but not all of them,” Mourinho stated. “I think football is changing in a way where, before, players were making money during their career. In this moment, they want to do their money before their career. Many of them are surrounded by people that want to make money before their career starts. When players make money before their career starts, one of their motivations is not so strong.

“In that aspect, society changes, football changes and people surrounding players change and obviously players change but you know, not all of them are like that...

“Every top player I had they were guys with all the ingredients so I don’t know a top player that is only interested in money and not in trophies.

“What I know, is people in the beginning of their careers, instead of being ready to destroy everything in front of them to reach a dream, they want to make money before they play even one game for the first team.

“In this moment, society changes a little or a lot and we find some young boys affected by these kind of people that surrounds them, losing a little bit that passion and ambition, but the top players they are complete people.”

Mourinho did reveal his own lasting fascination with the FA Cup from childhood, and his desire to win it again.

“As a kid, in a time of black and white television and not football live day after day, the English cup final was one of the few matches I was waiting with father and some friends we were waiting for that game by the end of the season, so I have memories of that fantastic feeling and some smaller teams to arrive in the final and some smaller teams fighting the final against big clubs and give always a real fight.

“Coventry won once, no, beat Tottenham [in 1987]? That Coventry one I remember because I was with them. I was always with the underdog.”

Finally, Mourinho again defended Oscar from diving accusations and reiterated there are “no divers” at Chelsea.

“It’s impossible for him to have the reputation, it’s impossible, unless somebody wants to be unfair and somebody wants to [tarnish] the image of other people and for that, using Oscar’s situation in the last game.

“I want to let it clear, there are many divers in all the football, there are many divers in some big clubs in the world of football, there are some divers in England, not many, some; in Chelsea, no divers, at all.

“Oscar made a mistake, which he tells me and I believe.”