Jose Mourinho said he will not quit as Chelsea manager and told the club they must sack him if they want to remove him.
The Premier League champions lost 3-1 at home to Southampton, their fourth league defeat in eight games.
“I want to make it clear. One, I don’t run away. Two, if the club want to sack me they have to sack me because I am not running away from my responsibilities or my team,” Mourinho said.
Chelsea are 16th in the table, 10 points behind leaders Manchester City, who thrashed Newcastle 6-1.
“To be champions now is very difficult because the distance is considerable,” Mourinho told Sky Sports.
“But I am more than convinced that we will finish in the top four and when the season is so bad if you finish in the top four it is OK.
“Third – and I think this is even more important than the first and the second – it is a crucial moment in the history of this club. You know why? Because if they sack me they sack the best manager this club had. The message is again that bad results and the manager is guilty.”
Chelsea took the lead through Willian but Steven Davis equalised before goals from Sadio Mane and Graziano Pelle secured Southampton’s victory.
The visitors were denied two penalties when Branislav Ivanovic appeared to pull Virgil van Dijk’s shirt, while Ramires looked to have tripped Mane in the area.
The home side also had a penalty appeal rejected by referee Robert Madley when Radamel Falcao went over the dive of keeper Martin Stekelenburg.
“Look, I think you know me and I don’t run away from my responsibilities. First, I want to say because we are in such a bad moment you should not be afraid to be also honest,” said Mourinho.
“The referees are afraid to give decisions for Chelsea. At 1-1, it is a huge penalty and once again we don’t get it. The penalty is a crucial moment in the game with the result 1-1.
“If the Football Association wants to punish me they can. They don’t punish other managers. My players deserve it, Chelsea fans deserve it. I am a Chelsea fan too.
“Referees are afraid to give decisions for Chelsea. Why? Because there is always a question mark from you [the media] and always a critic so we are always punished.
“We are punished because Diego Costa is suspended with images. In other matches we see the same things and it doesn’t happen.
“Clear penalties are not given. Even in the Champions League in a match we lose 2-1, we are not given a penalty in the last minute.
“The penalty in this game is more than crucial because my team, at the moment, the first negative thing that happens… they collapse. Mentally, psychologically, the team is unbelievably down.
“The penalty was a giant penalty and he was afraid to give [it] like everyone else is afraid to give [it]. After that the team lost even more confidence.
The team mentally tried but they collapsed. They are in such a low moment that they collapsed.”
Mourinho’s side also failed to have a shot in the second half against Southampton until the 77th minute.
“This is a moment for everybody to assume their responsibilities,” said the Portuguese.
“I assume my responsibilities, I think the players should assume their responsibilities. There are other people in the club that should also assume their responsibilities and to stick together. This is what I want.”
He added that “You know I have a big self-esteem and a big ego. I consider myself the best, [but I am] having the worst period and worst results of my career.
“Doing that as a professional hurts me a lot and doing that at Chelsea hurts me twice. I want to carry on, no doubt, and I assume my responsibilities but I think it is time for everybody to assume their responsibilities, because when you go down to so many individual mistakes and fear to play, they have their responsibilities.
“They are players who are performing really, really bad individually. I cannot come here and say: ‘You and you and you and you’ – it is not my job.
“But I think it is clear we are being punished by too many individual mistakes. Sadness brings sadness and bad results attracts bad results.
“Again, I repeat because I want to make it clear. I do not want to be offensive, non-polite. But I repeat, the referees are afraid to give decisions.
“When you are top you want to see people come down. When people are down, give us a break and be honest and be loyal with us because the team deserves that. The penalty is clear and 2-1 is a completely different story.”
Follow Us