© EuroFootball.com
After securing a victory in the semi-finals of the English League Cup against the modest "Wycombe" team, "Chelsea" coach Jose Mourinho was satisfied with the performance of forward Andriy Shevchenko. The Ukrainian, who has been heavily criticized recently and missed the Premier League match against Liverpool, scored 2 goals.
"I am pleased with Andriy's performance, which was greater than we expected. He will also play in the upcoming matches, on Sunday against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup. Sheva deserves it in these matches. His attitude is good, he is learning and showing good results, although it takes time to adapt to a new team," said the Portuguese.
"Players need to work and perform their tasks. If they do, I love them. If they don't work, I cannot love them. It doesn't matter if a footballer costs 30 million or 300 thousand. They are all the same to me," emphasized J. Mourinho.
After the victory in the League Cup semi-finals, the eccentric "Chelsea" strategist focused more attention on the team's forward from Ukraine: "I think it's a process. You can't immediately understand a player's philosophy and what's going on in his head. It's not that easy. He came to us after playing seven years for another team under another coach and with other teammates. Andriy's philosophy and mentality are the same as mine. It's not easy to quickly integrate into a new team. It takes time. We have a three-year contract. We need to wait and give him a chance."
Describing the relationships and the situation within the team, J. Mourinho said: "I don't think it's time to set off fireworks yet, but it's a step forward."
Meanwhile, the defeated "Wycombe" coach Paul Lambert was not disappointed and assessed the situation rationally: "We had a couple of chances to score, but we didn't take advantage of them. My guys fought and it's not a shame."
P. Lambert also stated that the criticism towards Chelsea is unfair, as there is a great competitive battle between clubs and things might not go well for anyone.
"Chelsea" will face the winner of the "Tottenham" - "Arsenal" pair in the League Cup final on February 25th.
