Mourinho expecting to stay

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Manager Jose Mourinho said he expected to remain at Chelsea next season after the champions beat fourth division Wycombe Wanderers 4-0 on Tuesday and 5-1 on aggregate to earn a place in next month's League Cup final.

The controversial coach, at the centre of barrage of media speculation that he might leave the club after disagreements with billionaire owner Roman Abramovich, also praised under-performing striker Andriy Shevchenko who scored twice for his first goals in seven weeks.

Mourinho told a news conference injured captain John Terry, who could be back in the side next week, was close to signing a new contract and had asked his manager whether he planned to stay next season.
"I told him, I think so," Mourinho said.

Chelsea have fallen six points behind Manchester United in the Premier League leading to more tension, especially over Shevchenko, On Tuesday, Mourinho said of the former European player of the year: "He was brilliant in the game. His attitude was very good . In this (match) he won the right to be in the lineup for Sunday."

Mourinho greeted Shevchenko with a warm handshake when he came off in contrast to previous games where he was ignored. If they work and they perform I love them, if they do not work and they do not perform, I hate them," he explained.

Chelsea play Arsenal or Tottenham Hotspur in the final on Feb. 25 and are also in the hunt for silverware in the FA Cup, in which they play Nottingham Forest in the fourth round on Sunday and in the Champions League.

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TERRY CLOSE TO SIGNING NEW BLUES DEAL

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has revealed John Terry is close to signing a new contract with the club and expects the deal to be done "in the next few days".

The Blues and England captain is set to put pen to paper on a deal that will make him the highest paid player in the Premiership - a package reportedly worth around £150,000-a-week.

But Mourinho revealed his skipper had wanted an assurance the Portuguese coach would be at Stamford Bridge next season.

Mourinho said: "John is almost signing a new contract. If he hasn't then he is doing that in the next few days. "But, when he says it would be very difficult for him to play with another manager in his career and he would like to do it with me until the end of his career, it is because he accepts my philosophy as his.

"He feels comfortable with the work we do." But when asked whether Terry had asked him outright whether he would be at the club next season, Mourinho replied: "Yes. My answer was 'I think so'.

Terry returned to full training this week and, although he still has some way to go to get back to full fitness, he could have an outside chance of returning against Blackburn in the Barclays Premiership next week.

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win some medals first then maybe he will stay

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Sheva And Mourinho: 'We Are Best Mates, Honestly'

Andriy Shevchenko insists there is no rift between himself and Jose Mourinho.

The Chelsea boss ignored his striker after the weekend defeat at Liverpool but Shevchenko was back in the starting line-up for Wednesday's Carling Cup semi-final win over Wycombe. And, after scoring twice, Mourinho made a point of shaking hands with the player who cost around £30million from AC Milan in the summer.

The 30-year-old striker had been criticised for his lack of impact at Stamford Bridge and has been accused of causing dressing-room unrest due to his close relationship with owner Roman Abramovich. However, after a 10-match drought Shevchenko scored his seventh and eight goals of the season to help defeat League Two side Wycombe and reach his first final in English football.

The Ukraine international was substituted with six minutes remaining and his handshake with Mourinho was in contrast to the reaction of his boss after the defeat at Anfield. "Nothing happened between us on Saturday and I am happy," said Shevchenko.

"Jose is the manager and has to think differently to the players and has a different philosophy but he knows best." Even though his goals came against a League Two side, Mourinho praised his striker for adapting to the English game and Shevchenko will have the chance to add to his tally on Sunday against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup.

Mourinho also insisted he had no "personal situation" with Shevchenko, adding: "If somebody said I'm not playing him because of a personal situation with him, they are a silly sod. "He's a good boy, he needs happiness and the game could give him a little bit of that.

"The personal relationship was always there and that is very important. One thing is professional issues and another thing is personal issues - the human relationship was always present which is why I always kept faith he would do it."

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Mourinho enlists Terry's contract talks in battle of wills with his board

Jose Mourinho last night increased the pressure on Chelsea's directors to provide the support that he insists he needs to remain at the club beyond this season by bringing John Terry into the picture. The captain is in talks over a new contract and Mourinho revealed that the centre-back has asked him whether he will be staying at Stamford Bridge and told him he would like to work with him for the rest of his career.

Mourinho claimed that Terry was set to sign an extension, confirming what the club's chief executive, Peter Kenyon, said at the weekend, but sent a message to his board that it will upset arguably Chelsea's most important player if there is a change of manager next summer.

It was tempting to see Mourinho's words as carefully timed and directed when he raised the issue of Terry. Questioned about how he had persuaded Andriy Shevchenko to work for the team, Mourinho referred to it being "a process" and mentioned how attached Terry has become to his approach.

"When he tells me that it will be very difficult for him to play under another manager in his career and he would like to do it with me to the end of his career it's because he accepts my philosophy as his philosophy," he said. "He feels comfortable. So it's a process. It's not a clique. Gary Neville says the same about Sir Alex [Ferguson] - that he would like to do his whole career with him. He is comfortable with him."

Mourinho's future has been left in doubt amid tensions with the owner, Roman Abramovich, and the board. The manager confirmed that Terry had asked him during contract negotiations whether he would be at the club next season. "My answer was 'I think so'," he said.