By Mark Finlay
The Chelsea manager was of course talking about Blues captain John Terry when he said that he must prove himself if he is to play in the first team, and be offered a new contract.
The now 32-year-old Terry was club captain during Mourinho’s previous spell at Stamford Bridge between 2004-2007 and currently only has one year remaining on his contract.
Mourinho said: “He’s not safe, and he knows he’s not safe. The only thing he knows is safe is our friendship, but professionally, nobody’s safe.
“I know he’s a very good player, but he must prove himself like everyone else.”
Terry fell down the pecking order last season under Rafa Benitez, but the Portuguese manager feels he still has a lot to offer saying:
I feel the motivation is there, the pleasure of training and playing is there,” Mourinho added.
“His class is there. His position is there. From a physical point of view, he needs to work hard and not have injuries because injuries break the evolution of the player. For me, that’s the key point for John.”
Mourinho also feels that he can get the best out of £50 million striker Fernando Torres.
“I think I know Fernando quite well in terms of a player,” said Mourinho, who believes Torres is at his best when he can run in behind defences.
“I think I know the best way for a team to play to try to get the best out of him, so I will try to help him, the same way I try to help other people.”
