Mourinho suggests he was under more ‘pressure’ to deliver success at Chelsea and Man Utd than Lampard and Solskjaer | OneFootball

Jose Mourinho has suggested he was under more ‘pressure’ to deliver success at Chelsea and Manchester United than current managers Frank Lampard and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Mourinho became the most successful manager in Chelsea’s history across two spells with the west London side, winning three Premier League titles, three League Cups and the FA Cup during his time in charge at Stamford Bridge.

The 57-year-old later moved to Manchester United and won a Europa League and League Cup double in his first season, though was sacked by the club in December 2018 following a downturn in results.

Each of his former sides are now under the guidance of former club favourites in Lampard and Solskjaer respectively, though Mourinho – who takes his Tottenham team to Chelsea this weekend – has questioned whether the pressures on both managers are as high as when he was in charge.

“When you are favourites, you know why you are favourites,” Mourinho said at his pre-match press conference. “And you have to accept that and you have to deal with that kind of pressure and responsibility.

“I was at clubs which were, let’s say, champions in the market because of the powerful investment in the market. I had to deal with that pressure. So now it is not for me to deal with that pressure. It is for others to deal with that pressure. That’s not for us.

“What I felt is that when I was in these clubs, there was huge pressure on me and now there is not huge pressure on the coaches of these teams. Put a little bit of pressure on them and leave us in peace, doing our job.”

Tottenham travel to Stamford Bridge this weekend as the Premier League leaders and are unbeaten since an opening weekend defeat to Everton, though face a Chelsea side who have won their past six fixtures in all competitions.

The north London side have doubts over the fitness of Hugo Lloris, Steven Bergwijn and Giovani Lo Celso ahead of Sunday’s clash, whilst Toby Alderweireld will be absent after suffering a serious groin injury during the 2-0 win over Manchester City last weekend.

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