Mourinho shrugs off Ballack chances

Jose Mourinho insists he will not be devastated if Michael Ballack decides against joining Chelsea on a free transfer this summer.

Both the Germany captain and Chelsea’s chief-executive Peter Kenyon have confirmed the two parties are involved in detailed negotiations about a move to Stamford Bridge.

But the 29-year-old Bayern Munich midfielder has still not told Mourinho he will definitely be joining the reigning Premiership champions.

The Portuguese coach, preparing his side for a potentially tricky visit to Bolton tomorrow, insists that, while he would love Ballack to join them, he will not lose any sleep if the player chooses a different club.

“If he comes it is a plus,” said Mourinho. “In a very good team he will be a plus but if he is not coming, he is not coming.

“We already have a very good side and squad, and very good midfield players.

“If he comes it is a big plus, if he is not coming we can survive and carry on with a good side.”

It is anticipated there will be changes at Chelsea in the summer with up to three players moving on.

But Mourinho is adamant he is happy with the current squad.

“I am happy with the squad and with the players,” he insisted. “I am happy with age of the group, their motivation and desire.

“I would be happy to stay exactly with the same squad but it is a normal process at a club like Chelsea to change.

“For example last season I was very happy to keep Tiago. I would never had said to him that he had to go.

“But we arrived at a conclusion where the player would like to go and have another experience and play every week in a first team.

“So sometimes you have to arrive at decisions that are not in your mind. I would be happy to stay exactly with the same players but it is normal to look for one, two or three players to try to improve, and always one, two or three players are keen to make a move and have a new direction. It is very normal what will happen at Chelsea.”

Chelsea currently lead the Premiership by seven points but their lead is expected to be reduced to four after Manchester United’s game against rock bottom Sunderland on Friday night.

United boss Alex Ferguson continues to publicly enforce his belief that Chelsea can be caught but Mourinho does not think the Scot is playing the kind of mind games he used to do with Arsene Wenger.

“What mind games?” asked Mourinho. “I don’t see mind games, I only see an optimistic person in the other side, thinking very positively.

“He thinks Manchester United will win their five matches and thinks Chelsea will lose the five matches. He thinks Bolton will beat Chelsea and Manchester United will beat Sunderland 10-0 and come up in the goal difference.

“I see a very optimistic person and I like an optimistic person. If he says ’we have no chance and we are going to lose against Sunderland and Chelsea will win every game, we have no chance’ – he would not have been manager of Manchester United for 20 years.

“So I just see a very optimistic person and no mind games. But from my side I say I prefer to be seven points in front and not seven behind.

“If they beat Sunderland I prefer to be four points in front than four behind. I think Manchester United don’t win every game until the end of the season.

“I think Chelsea can be champions by winning two games at home. Chelsea can lose three matches away from home but by winning two at home Chelsea are champions.

“So I am very optimistic and if you ask Sir Alex if I am on mind games, I think he will say ’no, I just see a optimistic person in London, thinking positive about his football’.”

Mourinho also made light of the way Chelsea’s lead at the top has been cut from 18 points at one stage and continued to promote the view that it doesn’t matter when the title-winning victory arrives.

“It was never 18 points because Manchester United had two matches in hand,” he said.

“Last season we never stopped winning but this season we stopped winning away from home and that created a situation where we gave United a chance to reduce the distance.

“But I talked at the start of the season of being champions in the last game at Newcastle.

“So if you can be champions before that – fantastic. If we can be champions in Newcastle – great.”