I'm Staying, Says Mourinho

Jose Mourinho last night made his most emphatic declaration yet that he intends to see out a turbulent period behind the scenes at Chelsea and remain their manager until his contract ends in 2010.

Mourinho insisted that he was not overly perturbed by the Russian owner Roman Abramovich's continued absence from Chelsea's matches and, after watching his team beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 with almost contemptuous ease, he came out with a statement that Brian Clough, a man who went by the moniker of Old Big 'Ead, would have been proud to produce. "I think it would be difficult for anyone to be manager of any club after me," said the Chelsea manager. "I wouldn't recommend it."

Asked if he was confident of remaining manager, Mourinho replied: "I don't have to be confident - I'm staying. I have a contract. I am the manager today, I will be the manager until the end of the season and I believe I'll be the manager until 2010. If I believe what I read in the press there are already 11 candidates for my job. Maybe tomorrow there will be 12 but I don't get influenced by that. I just want to do my work the best I can. I know the list is quite big in the newspapers but I'm staying, no problems.

"I think I'm coping well with the situation that has occurred and I think the players will agree with that. I'm working well. Even if the lists in the media become even bigger it's still no problem for me. I'm very happy."

Abramovich was conspicuous by his absence from a one-sided FA Cup tie in which Forest were obliging opponents for a club who have been ravaged by political in-fighting and continued rumours of divisions in the boardroom. However, Mourinho insisted that nothing too much should be read into Abramovich's decision not to attend the last three matches having previously been a spectator at every game since taking over the club.

"Roman and I speak as always," said the Chelsea manager. "The difference is that Roman is not in London for quite a long time. I have no complaints about that because he's the owner of this club and he doesn't have to give an explanation about his professional and personal life. He pays me and the chief executive Peter Kenyon quite a lot to run the club, so he doesn't have to be around all the time.

"When he's back he will always be welcome in our dressing room. But for now he is where he wants to be. He has his life and it is a busy, professional life, more so than I could probably imagine. He doesn't need to give anyone an explanation when he doesn't come."

Mourinho was keen to present the image of a club who have rediscovered their sense of togetherness and he also said he was not worried about the fact that his entire coaching staff are reportedly out of contract at the end of the season.

"My coaching staff do not need contracts," said the former Porto manager. "When they work with me, as they always have done, they know that they will be with me wherever I am. They need only to speak to the club for 10 minutes and sign a document. For me, though, the contract they have is with me. We are a group together - my group - and they know that where I am, they are. This is a media story, not our story and it is not something that worries me. If I have a job, they have a job too. So they have no problems with the situation."