Mourinho hungry for titles

Chelsea F.C. boss Jose Mourinho has admitted it is ‘difficult’ for him to live without titles, as the Blues continue their quest for the 2014/15 English Premier League title.

Mourinho was absolutely delighted to win his trophy of his second spell as Chelsea manager following his side’s 2-0 Capital One Cup triumph over Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley on Sunday.

During his 15 years as a manager, the Portuguese has now won 10 of 12 major cup finals, and 21 total trophies.

Having ended a two-year trophy drought on Sunday, Mourinho wants more silverware, and understandably so.

“It’s difficult for me to live without titles,” Mourinho said. “I need to feed myself with titles. This is important for me and the boys.

“For the club it’s one more club, but it’s the first one of a new team.

“You have Petr Cech, John Terry, Didier Drogba and, after that, everybody belongs to a new generation of players. So, as a team, very, very important.”

The Special One added: “I started in 2000. I won the UEFA Cup in 2003, the Champions League in 2004. I didn’t have time to process that.

“I went in a different direction, with two seasons without a trophy, and it looked like I was 20 years without a trophy.

“This is a good problem, to have that feeling that two years is a long time. That’s a good feeling.

“For me, it’s important to feel that I’m a kid. Before the game, that I had the same feelings as my first final however many years ago.

“It’s important to feel the same happiness after the victory, and to feel a kid at 52 years old.”

LVG explains Di Maria sub

Manchester United F.C. manager Louis van Gaal has explained his decision to substitute club-record signing Angel di Maria in favour of Adnan Januzaj during Saturday’s 2-0 win over Sunderland at Old Trafford.

Van Gaal’s decision to replace Di Maria with Januzaj at half-time was arguably the turning point in the match, with the Belgium international shining in an impressive second-half display.

“I want to win as a manager – I have to observe and analyze and I have to then make the steps that are necessary to win,” said Van Gaal when discussing the substitution at his post-match press conference.

“I thought I had to change Angel for Januzaj and we were then better in the second half so I cannot say it was the wrong decision. The difficulty, not only with Angel, is players have to adapt to the Premier League. I have explained already that the rhythm of the game here is so high – it is much higher than in other countries.

“He has to adapt to the culture so we have to give him time to adapt and also to lift his confidence again. That’s also important. He is a human being like me and like you and you can make mistakes. He is a top player so he shall overcome this period, I hope.”

Di Maria’s last goal for United came against Yeovil Town in the FA Cup on 4 January.