Chelsea FC vs Norwich City preview - Mourinho turns attention to Norwich

Posted Saturday, May 03, 2014 by PA

Jose Mourinho expects a reaction from Chelsea's Champions League elimination on Sunday against a Norwich side fighting for their Premier League status.

The Blues boss is determined his side respond from successive home defeats to Sunderland and Atletico Madrid in the final Stamford Bridge game of the season as the Canaries seek to end their dismal campaign on a high by avoiding the drop.

"The day I'm happy a couple of days after a defeat is because there is something wrong with me, and there is nothing wrong with me," Mourinho said.

"I'm not happy two days after a defeat. I consider myself a strong personality. I consider myself somebody with a great capacity to react to the negative moments and the negative feeling and in this moment I only think about the next match, the next couple of matches and the next season."

Norwich are "playing the game of their lives", Mourinho says.

"I expect they are going to play a final," he added.

"They have two games to decide where they are next season. Are they in the Championship? Are they in the Premier League?

"Are they playing against Chelsea, against Arsenal, against Manchester United?

"Are they playing at Anfield? Are they playing at the Emirates? Are they playing midweek matches in the Championship?

"It's going to be very, very, very difficult."

Chelsea, who must hope Manchester City and Liverpool have late collapses to have any hope of the title, need one point from the Norwich encounter and trip to Cardiff on the final day to confirm third place.

Mourinho also insists Chelsea have a "responsibility" to the other sides battling relegation to perform.

He added: "I have to motivate my players with the responsibility of finishing in the top three, which is very important for us to give us a better pre-season. If you play a play-off your pre-season is completely different; it changes a lot.

"I have to motivate my players with the fact that the fans deserve us to win at home.

"I also want to motivate them with the fact we must feel responsibility to be fair and to be correct with every other team that is also playing for relegation.

"I don't think Cardiff, Fulham, Sunderland, the teams that are also there, I can imagine they are not waiting for Chelsea to have a bad performance and to lose the game against Norwich.

"For many, many factors we must play a very serious game but respect professionals that are playing for their future."

Mourinho plans just a short summer hiatus before resuming preparations for the 2014/15 campaign in earnest.

Stamford Bridge was the scene of Neil Adams' greatest achievement in his managerial career and he is hoping to seal another memorable result on Sunday.

Adams took charge at Carrow Road in early April following the sacking of Chris Hughton but has been unable to halt the Canaries' slide into the relegation zone.

The 48-year-old was promoted due to his success within the youth set-up at Norwich, where he guided the team to FA Youth Cup success last season.

Chelsea were beaten over the course of two legs, with a 3-2 win at Stamford Bridge sealing an unexpected triumph for the Norfolk club.

Now, with five defeats in a row, Adams knows his side must replicate those heroics in west London if they are to stand a chance of top-flight survival.

"I have very good memories," he said. "The last time I was there as a coach was the Youth Cup final and we were successful. If there are any coincidences or traces of luck then hopefully that will happen.

"It is exactly the same, everyone outside of Norfolk doesn't give us a chance on Sunday. Chelsea are going for the title and we are in the bottom three and it doesn't take a genius to work out who the neutral will be fancying to win the game.

"It was exactly the same with the Youth Cup final, nobody really gave us a chance against a big and expensively-assembled Chelsea side but it is very similar to now, if you get the players right and get them believing they can go there and cause an upset they can."

Norwich go into the game on the back of a 4-0 defeat at Manchester United last weekend, having kept Ryan Giggs' side quiet for much of the first half.

Adams admits his players are at a low ebb and need to be ready to react if they slip behind on Sunday.

"It is very easy to get into the mentality when you are on a losing run. They say winning can become a habit and we have to make sure losing doesn't become a habit," he said.

"We have to prepare the players for if we go a goal down, does everything go out of the window or do we stick at it and make sure we have got an alternative option or an alternative plan. When you have lost games and you are at the bottom of the table it is tough."