José Mourinho has angrily responded to claims made by Arsene Wenger that the Portuguese manager has a fear of failure. Speaking at a press conference ahead of Chelsea's FA Cup tie against Manchester City this weekend, Mourinho reacted to Wenger's statement by calling the Arsenal manager "a specialist in failure", adding "I'm not, I'm not."
It is the latest twist in a recent escalating war of words between the two managers. Things started when Mourinho said Arsenal no longer have any excuses if they don't end their eight year trophy drought this season. Wenger subsequently hit back at his adversary, saying "only Chelsea can lose [the Premier League title]". The Frenchman then proceeded to talk about Mourinho's claim about Chelsea not being a title contender as being a sign of fear, "because if you declare yourself out of the race you cannot lose".
But now Mourinho, who has won eleven trophies since Wenger last did in 2005, has hit back at the Arsenal manager, labelling him "a specialist in failure." Referring to his own extensive haul of winners' medals, Mourinho also commented, "if supposedly he is right, and I am afraid to fail, it's because I don't fail many times." Asked if he feared anything in football, Mourinho answered simply, "no."
The Portuguese coach then went on to address Wenger's recent record: "The reality is that he is a specialist, because eight years without a piece of silverware is failure." Suggesting that Arsenal's drought has been handled too leniently by the club's board, Mourinho then stated, "If I do that at Chelsea, I leave London and don't come back".
Wenger Hasn't Won A Trophy Since 2005
Mourinho also implied that because of a lack of trophies in the recent past, Wenger has not justified his near 18 year stay at Arsenal. The former Real Madrid manager said he wouldn't want Roman Abramovich to give him eight years to build a team, saying "I just want my contract of four years to do my work and after that, deserve or not deserve the next contract."
It is the second time in a matter of weeks that Mourinho has become embroiled in a war of words, having recently engaged in a battle with Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini.
Sir Alex Ferguson was the Premier League's master of mind games. But, though Ferguson may have now exited the stage, it certainly seems that managerial mind games did not leave with him
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