Sack me if you dare, Mourinho taunts Chelsea owner

LONDON - JOSE Mourinho has dropped his biggest hint yet that he will not be Chelsea's manager next season.

He claims he has nothing to fear from the sack, as he would walk away a millionaire and straight into another high-profile position.

In a clear message to Chelsea's owner Roman Abramovich, the manager insisted on Monday:

'I know this season nobody could have done a better job than me here. In this club, in this season, nobody.'

Billionaire Abramovich remains furious over Mourinho's criticism of the board for failing to sign the players he wanted and his frequent public outbursts.

There was another one on Monday, as the club prepared for last night's Champions League clash with Porto.

'If the club decides to sack me because of bad results, that's part of the game. If that happens, I'll be a millionaire and I will get another club a couple of months later,' said Mourinho.

He denied that he was feeling any pressure with the constant speculation on his future.

'There is no pressure on me,' he said. 'I don't accept pressure from other people.

'I've won a lot of things in my career, but I cannot win every time, every year or every week.

'I have a happy family, my kids are healthy, I have a lot of friends, I live a good life. Pressure of what?'

He has a contract with Chelsea until 2010 worth £5 million (S$15 million) a year.

If he loses his job, he will be due at least a seven-figure sum as compensation.

His dare came as Abramovich made a fresh move for Portsmouth's coach Avram Grant.

The Blues owner tried to install Grant earlier this season to help Andriy Shevchenko discover his scoring touch.

But the move was vetoed by Mourinho, who insisted only he picked his coaching staff and warned he would quit if there was any interference from the Russian.

Abramovich has now decided that Grant will join the coaching team - whether Mourinho likes it or not, reported The Sun.

Chelsea are also running out of Premiership games to rein in Manchester United. But they are still in the FA Cup and have already won the League Cup - meaning a domestic hat-trick, though unlikely, is still on the cards.

Mourinho believes he and his squad deserve more credit for the way they have fought injury problems the whole season.

'What gives us motivation is the fact that we feel we are doing a very good job,' he said.

'Sometimes you can say because we are second in the Premiership our work is not so good as seasons before. I think exactly the opposite.

'To have the results that we have is not a miracle, and I'm not saying it's a job for Superman. I'm saying it's a job which my players deserve credit and respect for.

'From me, they have all that credit and all that respect.

'A normal team with a normal squad and without the atmosphere we have in our dressing room, any other team in our circumstances would not be in this position.

'We spent one half of the season without goalkeeper Petr Cech, half of the season without John Terry, and one season without Joe Cole.

'In the last 10 matches we won nine and drew one in all competitions.'

Given that the relationship between the dressing-room and board-room has not been at its best this season, Mourinho's latest remarks will not help.