Mourinho blasts Gerrard over Terry rift claim

AFP, LONDON: Jose Mourinho has taken a swipe at Steven Gerrard as the Chelsea manager slammed claims of a rift with his axed captain John Terry. Mourinho left Terry on the bench for Chelsea’s 4-0 victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv in their Champions League opener. His decision to drop Terry came just weeks after he hauled off the veteran defender at half-time when Chelsea were beaten at Manchester City. LA Galaxy midfielder Gerrard, working as a television pundit for the Chelsea match, claimed Mourinho’s treatment of Terry must be due to a fracturing of their relationship.
“There’s certainly a bit of friction behind the scenes because for me, you play John Terry week in, week out, he’s your captain,” Gerrard told BT Sport. But Mourinho was quick to rubbish that suggestion when quizzed about the former Liverpool star’s comments. “Steven is wrong,” Mourinho said. “I like him very much and respect him. I think he feels the same way but he is wrong because we have no problems.”
While Mourinho was determined to stamp out talk of a Terry row, he stopped short of guaranteeing the centre-back, and the five other players dropped by the Chelsea manager, would return to the team for Arsenal’s visit on Saturday. “I don’t know. Tomorrow I will start thinking about it. Everything was focused on this game. Tomorrow I will watch Arsenal,” he said.
“I prefer to have problems because players have good performances.” But Mourinho said the questioning of his reign was ridiculous. “It is human nature. You like people up and you like people down. (Wayne) Rooney was a disaster and then he broke the record and suddenly he is the greatest player in the history of English football,” Mourinho said. “You think in a different way. It is a different industry and it is an era when the pundits get big money to have their opinions.”

Mourinho blasts Gerrard over Terry rift claim

AFP, LONDON: Jose Mourinho has taken a swipe at Steven Gerrard as the Chelsea manager slammed claims of a rift with his axed captain John Terry. Mourinho left Terry on the bench for Chelseas 4-0 victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv in their Champions League opener. His decision to drop Terry came just weeks after he hauled off the veteran defender at half-time when Chelsea were beaten at Manchester City. LA Galaxy midfielder Gerrard, working as a television pundit for the Chelsea match, claimed Mourinhos treatment of Terry must be due to a fracturing of their relationship. Theres certainly a bit of friction behind the scenes because for me, you play John Terry week in, week out, hes your captain, Gerrard told BT Sport. But Mourinho was quick to rubbish that suggestion when quizzed about the former Liverpool stars comments. Steven is wrong, Mourinho said. I like him very much and respect him. I think he feels the same way but he is wrong because we have no problems. While Mourinho was determined to stamp out talk of a Terry row, he stopped short of guaranteeing the centre-back, and the five other players dropped by the Chelsea manager, would return to the team for Arsenals visit on Saturday. I dont know. Tomorrow I will start thinking about it. Everything was focused on this game. Tomorrow I will watch Arsenal, he said. I prefer to have problems because players have good performances. But Mourinho said the questioning of his reign was ridiculous. It is human nature. You like people up and you like people down. (Wayne) Rooney was a disaster and then he broke the record and suddenly he is the greatest player in the history of English football, Mourinho said. You think in a different way. It is a different industry and it is an era when the pundits get big money to have their opinions.