Paul Ince: Jose Mourinho will get abused at Chelsea

PAUL INCE reckons Jose Mourinho will be abused at Stamford Bridge - but only by a minority.

By Jack Wilson                                 

 
Paul Ince has spoken about Jose Mourinho ahead of the Manchester United v Chelsea game

Mourinho is back at Chelsea on Sunday for the first time since being sacked last year.

He leads his Manchester United side into battle and legend Ince believes some Blues fans will be angry with their ex-boss.

Ince told the Paddy Power Blog: “There will be a minority who will give him plenty of abuse on Sunday afternoon, but it’ll be disappointing if he isn’t given a really good welcome.

“He brought lots of silverware to the club, including three league titles

“The fans need to draw a line through his departure last year and remember the success and domination he brought to the club.”

Mourinho won three Premier League titles, three League Cups and the FA Cup during his two spells at the Bridge.

He was sacked in December last year - just seven months after lifting the title.

But Ince is sure most will remember the good times

The United legend said: “Players and managers aren’t naive – you know when you go back to play a former club that you’re going to get plenty of stick.

“These games are intense and the last thing you should be worrying about is what the crowd are going to be like.

 

Jose Mourinho takes his Manchester United team back to Chelsea on Sunday

“If you’re mentally weak then, of course, it can get to you, but that was never a problem for me.

“Mourinho will no doubt have a similar attitude as the manager. When you’ve moved club, the first thing you look for when the fixtures are announced are the games where you are due to head back to your old stomping ground.

“Sometimes you’d look and think ‘oh sh*t, I’ve got to there for an evening game in November”, but when the times, you’re ready for anything.

“Will it bother Jose if he went there and got plenty of stick? Of course not.”

Jose Mourinho is well-loved by Chelsea fans

United shut up shop against Liverpool on Monday night and battled to a 0-0 draw.

But Ince believes the Chelsea game will be far more open.

He said: “Jose will want to go to Chelsea and leave with three points.

“He’ll have his Manchester United team fired up and the players will know how much it means to the boss.

“Hopefully they’ll be more fired up than they were at Anfield on Monday night, anyway!

“These United players have to believe that they have a good chance of winning on Sunday afternoon – Chelsea aren’t quite there yet, this isn’t a side firing on all cylinders.

 

“If you’ve got aspirations of being in the Champions League and competing for the title, you have to go to sides like Chelsea and win away from home.

“A draw does nothing for either team, it just allows Manchester City and others to pull away.

“United have to go there and win, rather than take a point. It’s still early in the season, but United could be eight points behind City with a draw against Chelsea, and it’s a big ask to claw that back.

“United haven’t beaten Chelsea in their last 10 meetings, but you can dress statistics up whatever way you want.

“The players know the stats and the managers know the stats, but the game is on Sunday – it’s all about Stamford Bridge at 4pm.”