No fear of Mourinho losing his belief

Jose Mourinho yesterday declared Chelsea will be champions irrespective of how many points they drop in the next month. Having drawn against Everton and been dismissed from the English League Cup by Charlton, the Chelsea manager made an exasperated response to questions about his side's credentials.

"It doesn't matter what the result is against Blackburn or Manchester United, we will be champions," said Mourinho, whose side host the former today, before adding that the games Chelsea lose will be because of misfortune. "The best way to beat Chelsea is to be lucky.

"You cannot say the way to beat Chelsea is to play counter-attack because we have very fast players and we are a very good team recovering from balls lost. You cannot say the best way to beat Chelsea is to kick long balls up and to play a direct game because we have proved we can cope with it. You cannot say the way to beat Chelsea is to have a go and to attack to try to win the game because we are very strong on the counter-attack and we can kill them on the counter-attack."

Arsenal's manager Arsene Wenger had said that "a little bit of (Chelsea's) belief has gone because they could not win those two games. So there is a little hope there."

Mourinho feels that the country as a whole is so against his team that a national holiday will be declared should they lose a league game. "Everyone was crying that Chelsea kept winning and winning," he said of the mood last week. "Everyone was waiting for Chelsea not to win every game. One day when we lose, there will be a holiday in this country. When we broke 10 years of Man United and Arsenal dominance I think we didn't deserve so many people wanting us to feel guilty."

He does not appear as upset by Chelsea's previous two results as his opponents would wish. "Two draws is not a drama," said Mourinho, still refusing to count the League Cup exit as a defeat because it was on penalties.

He is unimpressed with the way attitudes have changed towards Chelsea in seven days. "One week ago we were speaking about 4-1, 5-1, 4-0. This weekend we are speaking about two matches that were 1-1. Of course one of them leaves us out of the Carling (League) Cup but I think the team is playing well in every aspect of the game."

Mourinho is still bitter about last Sunday's Everton game. James Beattie's intimation that Chelsea can be defeated in a physical battle provoked a stinging response. "James Beattie had one touch of the ball in 90 minutes," said Mourinho, referring to Beattie's goal.

"It was an important shot but he didn't touch the ball. John Terry, afraid of James Beattie, or Robert Huth of Duncan Ferguson? I don't think so. If they think we are little kids, afraid of the fight, they are very wrong. James Beattie should be worried that he has been in the club for one year and he has scored two goals. He should be worried about that, not worried about what Chelsea is doing."

Mourinho denied anything untoward had occurred to cause Glen Johnson's hand injury, believed to have been caused by the player punching a wall. Mourinho initially refused to give an explanation but then dismissed the issue by saying: "There are lots of suggestions."

Meanwhile, Ottmar Hitzfeld is the latest high-profile figure to have spoken to Hearts about their vacant manager's job. The German, who coached both Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich to the Champions League title but has been out of football since parting company with Bayern last May, has spoken to the club's chief executive Phil Anderton in the past 48 hours, though Hearts are unlikely to name a successor to George Burley before Wednesday.

Claudio Ranieri and Bobby Robson have also spoken to Hearts officials as the club looks to appoint a director of football, who is expected to choose his own head coach, although it is now understood the Italian will not be offered either job.

Celtic are launching a new £15-million share issue to boost their youth system and build a new training complex. The club's biggest shareholder, Irishman Dermot Desmond, has agreed to underwrite the scheme for up to £10 million. A total of 50 million new shares are to be made available at 30 pence per share. Guardian Service