LONDON – After four matches without a win and facing criticism following a loss to FC Basel in the Champions League, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said Friday he is changing the way his team plays and dismissed talk of a crisis at Stamford Bridge.

The expectation surrounding Mourinho’s second spell at Chelsea has not yet been matched by results, with Chelsea hosting Fulham on Saturday looking for its first win since Aug. 21.

“I don’t like the way Chelsea were playing in the last couple of years,” Mourinho said. “The club doesn’t like it. We want to change. We have the players with the profile to change. We want to play a different style.”

He added, “Crisis of what? Syria? For me, no crisis, for me two bad results.”

Chelsea’s surprising defeat to Basel followed losses to Everton and against Bayern Munich in the Super Cup final — on penalties — and a draw at Man United.

In his first spell as manager from 2004 to 2007, Mourinho won five trophies with Chelsea including two Premier League titles and an F.A. Cup but the Portugese insists his past success counts for nothing now.

“The past is history, even my past,” he said. “I always said I’m here like I’ve just arrived. I don’t want to be protected because of what I did here in the past. It matters absolutely nothing.”

Mourinho’s first Chelsea team was known more for its resilience and physical prowess than its flair or fluency and the head coach has come under criticism this season for leaving out Juan Mata, who was the most creative player last season.

Chelsea is currently sixth in the Premier League, winning two of its first four games.

Ferguson fires back

AFP-Jiji
LONDON

Alex Ferguson on Thursday hit back at claims he intentionally influenced officials after ex-referee Mark Halsey revealed his close relationship with the former Manchester United manager.

Halsey, who refereed in the Premier League for 14 years before retiring after last season, caused controversy this week when the newspaper serialization of his new book ‘Added Time’ gave details of his friendship with Ferguson.

In the serialization, Halsey confessed to sending a text message to Ferguson asking him to speak out on behalf of Mark Clattenburg when the referee was under investigation for having allegedly made a racist remark to Chelsea’s John Obi Mikel.

Halsey claims that Ferguson subsequently did so at his behest and Clattenburg was later found to be innocent.

The former official, who spent a year out of the game in 2009 while he battled throat cancer.

Halsey’s revelations led to criticism of Ferguson, who some accused of befriending the referee in a bid to win favorable decisions during matches.

Ferguson denied any wrongdoing and said the extent of his relationship with Halsey had been to support him in his cancer fight.

“Obviously there is an Alex Ferguson element in his (Halsey’s) book, he thought was important,” he told MUTV.