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By Anna Sneider

Blues boss Jose Mourinho has told the Daily Mirror that his benched stars at Stamford Bridge do not need to be happy to be winners; they just need to be ready when called upon.

The Chelsea boss explained that he never gives reasons when he decides to drop a player just as he didn’t to real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas when he was in charge at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Meanwhile the Premiership leaders will look to get back their three point advantage when they travel to the Britannia Stadium Monday evening to take on mark Hughes tough to beat at home Stoke City.

The Blues boss is likely to make five changes from the team that beat Derby County in the Capital One Cup that will probably see Filipe Luis, Petr Cech, John Mikel and Andre Schurrle being benched for the match against Stoke.

When asked about the decision to drop players following a win Mourinho replied: “That’s football. Especially that’s football in a team that is playing very well and getting the results.

“Players are unhappy and frustrated, and need to be patient. I don’t have a secret of keeping them happy. I think they are unhappy and frustrated, but the reality is that, to be professional and work at a high level, you don’t need to be happy.

“All of them are professionals. The team is more important than them. And the club.

“Mark Schwarzer hasn’t played a second, but if he has to play tomorrow he would because he’s ready. He’s trained very well. We may have a secret to make them work every day at a high level, but there is no secret to keep them happy.

“I think everybody has to be ready to sacrifice for the team, to give everything for the team, to think about the team, not to be selfish. This is the way I want a team to be.

“The first time Mikel played was Newcastle and he was our best player. How can he be our best player if he didn’t play in three months?

“Because he was working every day at the top level. Sad, frustrated, not happy? Maybe. But professional. That’s what I expect from the players.”

“It’s one of the first things I say to a squad at the beginning of the season: I don’t give explanations to players unless they ask me for one.

“If they ask, I’ll explain. I had one who asked, knocking on my door asking why someone else was playing instead of him. I said he was playing better, closed the door, goodbye.

“It’s the concept of helping the team. Everybody wins, everybody loses. You have to know the squad is good at Chelsea.”

 

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