No emotion for Mourinho

By Trevor Haylett in London

He finds himself in the unusual position of plotting the defeat of the team who only four months ago he ushered up to the podium to collect the UEFA Champions League trophy. Yet José Mourinho insists that Wednesday's fixture between Chelsea FC and FC Porto is "just another game".

Concentration needed
Mourinho, who left the Portuguese club at the moment of their finest triumph to take over at Chelsea, said that when the first whistle blows any special emotion goes out of the Stamford Bridge window. "During the game you have to forget, you have to play, you have to concentrate on your have targets and ours is to get the three points" Mourinho said.

'Nice feelings'
"I am sure I will have nice feelings to see some players again and I'm sure afterwards that you will find some people you like and who like you and that is when the emotion comes. But during the 90 minutes it's just one more game. They want to win and we want to win - that's normal."

Old friends
It is not only Mourinho who will be confronted with his immediate past in the Group H contest. Two of the team who beat AS Monaco FC in the final in May, Paulo Ferreira and Ricardo Carvalho, subsequently joined him in London while Porto, despite losing a host of big names, continue to be staffed by a number of his former players.

Confidence high
It provides an intriguing backdrop to the tie in which Chelsea, the only winners in the group on Matchday 1, will look to open up a healthy advantage in the section. They are full of confidence having dropped only four points - and conceded just one goal - in seven Premiership games while also beginning their Champions League campaign with an emphatic 3-0 victory away to Paris Saint-Germain FC.

No comparison
Mourinho says any attempt to compare his new team with his previous one is folly. "In Porto we worked together for two years and we improved the team season after season," he added. "We won the UEFA Cup and improved the team for the next season. The team then arrived into the European Cup at the end of that process.

Only the start
"At Chelsea we are at the beginning of that progress. We have had only three months together and I'd say that has been no more than one and a half months work because of international team matches. So you can not compare a team of two years with one of three months."

Critics ignored
His Chelsea reign has generated accusations of negativity with just seven goals scored in those seven league games but striker Eidur Gudjohnsen said they paid no heed to it. "When you have a team that's successful everyone wants to find something to break that success," he said.

Full-back problem
Wayne Bridge looks certain to be fit to reclaim his place at full-back for the home team, an area of the Porto side causing coach Víctor Fernández particular concern. Both Giourkas Seitaridis and Nuno Valente, his first-choice full-backs, are missing through injury. José Bosingwa and Ricardo Costa are likely to deputise.

Mental strength
"We have to be mentally very strong because we are facing a team of physical strength and athleticism" said Fernández. "We have to dispute the ball with every player in order to take the three points."

Opening draw
His team drew 0-0 with PFC CSKA Moskva in their first Champions League fixture and after three previous draws have only just clinched their first victory in the Portuguese SuperLiga. Nevertheless, Fernández believes the holders can go a long way again. "It's always a responsibility being the winners of the previous season but we have good players and are capable of
doing very well this season."