Luiz happy to graft

David Luiz maintains he will take both criticism and praise in his stride as he concentrates on just doing an honest day's work at the heart of the Chelsea defence.

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The 24-year-old has produced both solid displays as well as the odd eccentric performance following his £21million move to Stamford Bridge from Benfica just over a year ago.

But as Chelsea look to replace the disappointment of letting a 3-0 lead slip against Manchester United last weekend with a positive result at Everton, Luiz insists meeting his own work ethic is all that matters, and told the club's official website: "I have been working in the same way as always, training at my best level."

He added: "Sometimes you get criticism, like I did, and recently I have been applauded for my work. As long as I can go home and lay down on my bed and have my conscience clear that I am doing an honest job, I am happy.

"The main thing is to continue working and maintaining the philosophy that the coach instructs.

"We have to do this, sometimes we are doing things that are great and not getting the results and sometimes we do things not so good and get the result.

"The main thing is to continue working hard and obviously we are not where we want to be at the moment, not fighting for first place, but we have to keep looking for victories and believe in ourselves until the end.

"There are games we have lost where we could have done better, but we can't change the past, we can only look to the future and know that we can do better and move up positions."

Owner Roman Abramovich was understood to have again attended training on Wednesday - this third recent visit to Cobham.

The club though have already denied any suggestion that manager Andre Villas-Boas was coming under increased scrutiny from the billionaire owner.

Krasic admits an interest in Chelsea move

The agent of Juventus winger Milos Krasic has admitted that the Serbian likes the thought of playing for Chelsea.
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Krasic, 27, has been at Juventus since 2010 having joined the Italian side from CSKA Moscow for £13million.

He has only managed to feature seven times this season under manager Antonio Conte.

His agent Valado Borozan told Italian sports website calciomercation.it:

‘In this moment Milos wants to stay at Juventus. There is no need to work on Krasic - we have to wait and see what will happen.

‘Milos is appreciated everywhere, so we'll see which side will come forward between now and June.

‘He is under contract and so far there has not been a need to start talking to other clubs.

‘Chelsea? They are interested in the player and they are one of the clubs he likes.’

According to The Metro, Chelsea could make their move for Krasic once the transfer window re-opens in the summer.

Abramovich runs the rule over Chelsea

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich watched his expensively assembled side train Tuesday as he continued to keep an eye on the regime of manager Andre Villas-Boas.

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The Russian billionaire made what is thought to be his first training-ground visit of the season on Saturday, spending more than half an hour watching the preparations for Sunday's 3-3 Premier League draw with Manchester United and 20 minutes speaking with Villas-Boas.

Chelsea have denied reports the duo were involved in 'showdown' talks, following a report Abramovich, who is estimated to have invested £1 billion of hs own fortune into the London club, had become frustrated with results that have left them 14 points behind leaders Manchester City.

Abramovich did though talk to Chelsea's players after watching them blow a 3-0 lead against United.

But Villas-Boas said: "Roman is always very interested in the running of events and it was good for the team to feel his presence.

"We touched a little bit, of course, on next year's project but mainly on that (United) game.

"Roman is a very educated person to the cause of Chelsea Football Club and his aura is always present."

Villas-Boas agrees with Capello

Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas has backed Fabio Capello in the row over John Terry being stripped of the England captaincy and insisted the Italian had every right to make his unhappiness known.

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Capello told Italian TV that he "absolutely" disagreed with the action by the Football Association.

The FA announced on Friday their decision to remove the armband from Terry until the outcome of his court case in July where the Chelsea defender denies a charge of racially abusing QPR's Anton Ferdinand. Villas-Boas said: "He has the right to his opinion and to share that defence with the player."

It is understood that Terry, 31, has no intention of quitting international football and is intent on playing for England at Euro 2012.

Meanwhile, Sir Alex Ferguson claims the FA and Capello need to sort out their differences over Terry.

The England manager is due to meet FA chairman David Bernstein for talks later this week when the issue will be raised.

Ferguson told CNN: "There has to be some communication regarding the issue. I know Fabio has been abroad but he's back now so the next few days should reveal everything.

"It's a difficult situation for both sides.

"When you are the manager of a team and have a captain that is an important part of that team then you don't want to lose him, so I can understand there's a lot of discussion and controversy about it."

Chelsea aim to influence title destiny

Chelsea seek to decide destiny of Premier League Title

Andre
Villas-Boas may have conceded Chelsea are out of the Premier League
title race but his side's superb home record against Manchester United
means they can still influence the final destiny of the championship.

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Sir
Alex Ferguson's United last won in the league at Stamford Bridge 10
years ago and the rivalry between the clubs burns as fiercely as ever,
despite the 12-point gap that currently separates the two sides.

United
are locked in a battle with their near neighbours Manchester City at
the head of the table, while Chelsea's immediate challenge is to tighten
their grip on fourth place.

John Terry will miss the game with a
knee injury but while the fall-out from the Football Association's
decision to strip him of the England captaincy has overshadowed
Chelsea's preparations, Ferguson is well aware of the challenge posed by
Villas-Boas' side.

"It's not an easy game going to Stamford Bridge. We haven't beaten them since 2002, which is a decade," said the United manager.

"In
that period, Chelsea's rise to prominence has been obvious and the last
seven years, we have battled with them for league titles. Therefore,
you expect a hard game and it will be.

"I hope our form will stand
up as it did in the Arsenal game. Even last week at Liverpool (in the
FA Cup), it was a really good performance from us, we just threw the
match away with two bad mistakes.

"We didn't deserve it, but that can happen in a cup tie."

But
Villas-Boas warned a Chelsea victory could derail United's title bid --
just as their win over City last December had triggered a dip in form
for Roberto Mancini's side.

"The leader in mid-December, Man City,
was undisputed but they lost against us and continued to lose games and
continued to drop points," said the Chelsea manager, who knows three
points would strengthen his position after a week in which Jose Mourinho
was linked with a move back to the club.

"Man United in the last
five games have three wins and two defeats, surprisingly, and that is
the situation of the league and we can never tell."

Terry's absence could mean a first start for Gary Cahill, while Frank Lampard could return after a calf injury.

Midfielders Ramires and John Obi Mikel are injured.

Ferguson
still faces an anxious wait over his goalkeeping position, with Anders
Lindegaard expected to be out for up to six weeks with ankle ligament
damage and David de Gea also facing a late fitness test on his own ankle
injury.

Ferguson expects de Gea, who has found his introduction
to English football a torrid one, to recover in time to play, meaning
young Englishman Ben Amos -- who made his league debut in the 2-0
mid-week victory over Stoke -- will be on the bench.

"De Gea
should be fit," said Ferguson. "In fairness to Ben Amos, he has been
agitating for this opportunity for quite a while and we had to calm him
down in the sense of whether he should go out on loan or not.

"It's
not easy if you're in Europe to let one of your goalkeepers go. You do
really need three of them, that point's been proved now.

"Ben did well the other night. He has had opportunities in the League Cup, played against Valencia, things like that.

"He's
had a little bit of experience but not the kind of experience you'd
expect going into a game like Stamford Bridge. It is something I will
make a decision on later."

However, the injury news is almost
entirely positive for Ferguson elsewhere as Wayne Rooney, Nani, Ashley
Young and Tom Cleverley will all be in the United squad.

"Obviously
Young has been out a few weeks, Cleverley has been out a few months so
it's more likely Thomas will play against Chelsea reserves on Monday,
but he's travelling anyway," explained Ferguson.

"Hopefully, Nani is okay. He has trained the last two days."

Torres hails Chelsea fans

Fernando Torres has admitted he might have given up all hope of succeeding at Chelsea but for the support of the club's fans.

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And the World Cup-winning striker has revealed that one of the greatest memories of his career was off the field when a substitute at Wolverhampton while the supporters chanted his name.

"I would like things to be much better but the support they give me every day is amazing," Torres told Chelsea TV. "I remember a game against Wolverhampton and I was on the bench, and they were still singing my name."

He added: "I've been very lucky to live very good moments but that game, when I was in the middle of nothing and not playing, was maybe the best memory I have in all my career.

"At the beginning of the season, I went through a hard moment, I was not playing, things were wrong and I was eight games without playing - I had never been in this situation before.

"The only thing that gave me hope was the support of the people.

"That game against Wolverhampton showed me there are important things to fight for, the love of the fans, the support of the club.

"My team-mates as well but the fans are the ones who have always been there from the first day until now."

The £50million man has scored just five times in 44 Chelsea appearances since last January's move from Liverpool and is currently on his longest goal drought yet.

Chelsea: Court decided trial date

Chelsea have insisted it was the court's decision to put John Terry's racism trial back to July - a move which led to the Football Association stripping the defender of the England captaincy.

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The club's chief executive Ron Gourlay had written to the district judge asking for the trial to be delayed until after the Chelsea players' domestic and international footballing commitments are over for the season.

That appeared to have backfired for Terry after the FA board announced that as a result of the trial date they have decided the 31-year-old will not be the England captain before or during Euro 2012.

At a press conference on Friday Chelsea boss Andres Villas-Boas was asked about their push for a July trial, and a club spokesman responded by saying: "We asked for consideration. We submitted a letter asking for consideration on a business case for Chelsea Football Club and also that it would make it easier for us to present our players if they were requested.

"It was the court's decision after that."

Terry's barrister, George Carter-Stephenson QC, entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday. The 31-year-old is accused of racially abusing QPR defender Anton Ferdinand during a Barclays Premier League match in October, which he has always denied. He will stand trial on July 9.

Carter-Stephenson also handed the district judge a letter from Chelsea chief executive Gourlay. Villas-Boas said Terry was "disappointed" but that he was not worried about the player's mental state.

The Chelsea manager said: "He is disappointed, but John is a person of good mental strength and great personal convictions. So he has to move on, he has to move on. He went past this period before when he was stripped before of the (England) captaincy.

"He came back to a level still of great individual performances.

"So, in that sense, on the sense of pure player-manager relationship and team, his performances haven't dropped a level."

FA poised to decide Terry's future

John Terry's future as England captain was in the balance on Friday as Football Association chiefs were poised to decide whether he should be stripped of the armband over his racism court case.

Widespread media reports said the FA chairman David Bernstein had contacted all members of the governing body's 12-strong board to seek their opinion on whether Terry should keep the captaincy.

The BBC reported early Friday that the FA was set to remove Terry as captain but allow the player to continue to be available for selection.

The FA has faced mounting calls for Terry to be axed after his trial on charges of racially abusing Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand was adjourned until after the Euro 2012 championships.

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Terry, who was also stripped of the captaincy in 2010 because of allegations about his private life, has strongly denied the charges against him and has vowed to clear his name.

The FA had previously delayed taking any action against Terry out of concerns that it may prejudice his court case, insisting the Chelsea defender was "innocent until proven guilty."

However since then, Terry has been formally charged with a criminal offence, and a growing body of opinion has emerged that his position as captain of England is no longer tenable.

Damian Collins MP, a member of the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, has voiced his opinion on Twitter.

"John Terry should stand aside as captain until the case is resolved, and any doubt either way removed," he said.

Piara Powar, the executive director of European football's anti-discrimination body - Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) also said Terry should be replaced.

"Innocent until proven guilty," he Tweeted. "But should John Terry remain as England capt through the Euros? I can't see how he can."

Reading striker and radio pundit Jason Roberts Tweeted: "Believe me...the Dressing room at the Euros will be TOXIC unless the correct decision is made..!!!

"Innocent until proven Guilty...I have also noted that Woodgate and Bowyer where suspended from England Duty pending there Assault Charges???"

Media commentators meanwhile have broadly called for Terry's replacement, arguing that the mere fact of the charges make him an inappropriate figurehead for English football given its record in campaigning against racism.

The Times chief sports writer Simon Barnes said Friday the FA faced an "invidious choice."

"Should we seem to be rejecting the principle of innocent until proven guilty, or should we seem to be condoning racism?" Barnes wrote.

"Racism is emphatically a public issue, and to captain your country is a public role. Moreover, captaining England is not a fundamental human right.

"To choose, as captain of your country, a man who may have been guilty of racist behaviour is inappropriate, even if he denies it. So on those grounds alone it's good night JT."

D-Day dawning for Terry

John Terry faces a D-Day over his England captaincy with Football Association leaders expected to decide as early as Friday whether he should give up the armband due to his racism trial.

FA chairman David Bernstein on Thursday contacted all the other members of the 12-strong board to seek their views on Terry's captaincy after Wednesday's announcement that the Chelsea defender's court case, where he is accused of racially abusing QPR's Anton Ferdinand will not take place until July 9 - after Euro 2012.

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More than one board member have argued strongly that Terry should not be the England figurehead with such a serious charge hanging over him, and that the FA should act immediately rather than putting off a decision until the next board meeting on February 23.

The spectre of England being forced to make a complaint about racist abuse from the crowd when playing matches in Ukraine this summer has been raised - it would be difficult for the FA to take the moral high ground if England's captain is himself facing a criminal charge for racism.

Other board members believe the FA are in a no-win situation and that if they remove the England captaincy from Terry they will be accused of pre-judging the case and ignoring the principle of innocent-until-proven guilty. Terry's barrister yesterday entered a formal 'not guilty' plea at Westminster magistrates court.

England manager Fabio Capello is another factor and the Italian has previously insisted that he should be the one making the decisions over the captain. Some significant voices have been raised calling for Terry to stand aside, while reports today quoted sources close to the player saying he had no intention of resigning the captaincy.

Damian Collins, a Tory MP who sits on the culture, media and sport committee and who has made a name for himself as a campaigner for FIFA reform, said Terry had to stand aside.

Collins told Press Association Sport: "He is in a public position as England captain. Anyone else in a public position faced with such a criminal charge would stand aside from their position and then if cleared be able to return to that position.

"This has gone beyond being an allegation. He has been charged and has to appear in court and I don't think under those circumstances he can fulfil his duties. It is also what it means for communities across the country if people just close their eyes to the situation until after the court case."

Piara Powar, the executive director of UEFA-funding European anti-discrimination body Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) also believes the captaincy has to be removed. Piara said on his Twitter account: "Innocent until proven guilty. But should John Terry remain as England capt through the Euros? I can't see how he can."

Terry denies race charge

England captain John Terry denies racially abusing Anton Ferdinand and will stand trial for the offence, a court heard on Wednesday.

The player did not attend the short hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London, but his barrister George Carter-Stephenson QC, entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf.

Terry, 31, is accused of a racially-aggravated public order offence over video footage which appears to show him shout an offensive comment at QPR defender Ferdinand during a Premier League match in October.

AVB - We didn't deserve to lose

Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas felt his side's last-gasp equaliser in their 1-1 draw at Swansea was just reward for a big second-half effort at the Liberty Stadium.

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The Blues, who ended the game with 10 men following Ashley Cole's late sending off, dominated the second half, but looked set to leave south Wales empty handed thanks to Scott Sinclair's superb first-half volley against his former club but Jose Bosingwa's stoppage-time cross deflected in off Neil Taylor.

"I think it was a very different first half to the second, completely different. In the second half we were more confident and caused Swansea a lot of problems by pressing high," said Villas-Boas.

"The first half was the opposite, we conceded territory and they found spaces and caused problems. Their goal came during the period when we were starting to do things right, we had plenty of the ball but didn't take our chances.

"The second half was very good, a big effort to improve things, if the goal had come earlier we could have got the second due to the motivation and momentum, but they defended very well.

"The goal was a reward for what the team was doing, but we are unsatisfied because if we had played like this in the first half we would have won the game. We let Swansea have that advantage but we responded in the second 45 minutes."

Cole's sending off, after he picked up a second booking for a sliding challenge on Nathan Dyer, means the England full-back will miss this weekend's crunch clash with Manchester United.

And Villas-Boas admits the loss is a big blow to the Blues, who were without John Terry due to a knee injury, with the England captain's court case into his alleged racial abuse of Anton Ferdinand - which he strenuously denies - set to begin on Wednesday.

"His first booking was fair, the second was a more difficult challenge to asses due to the speed it happened at. Ashley thought he was getting the ball and Dyer anticipated but I am not sure there was enough contact (for it to be a booking) as Dyer got up straight away.

"He is one of our key players, Ashley is immense and of course he will be a big loss."

Chelsea refuse to give up chase: Villas-Boas

Andre Villas-Boas believes Chelsea are capable of closing the gap on the top three despite slipping seven points behind third-placed Spurs.

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An own goal from Neil Taylor in stoppage time spared Chelsea's blushes after their former winger Scott Sinclair had given Swansea City the lead six minutes before half-time.

Chelsea, who had Ashley Cole sent off four minutes from time, for a second yellow card, have now taken only two points from their last two games, against Norwich and Swansea.

"It is a gap that has grown tonight, but two weekends ago it was reduced," said Villas-Boas. "So, we go back to where we were before. A seven point gap is nothing in the Premiership.

"It is never satisfying only to get a point, but Tottenham are still within our reach and let us see what we can do from here.

"At the moment it makes no sense for me to speak about the league. We are competing for the Champions League and that is our main objective.

"We will face what will probably be the new league leaders, next weekend, and after that game, we can see if the first spot is within our reach or not."

Villas-Boas meanwhile was happy with Chelsea's transfer window dealings.

"We strengthened in the most important position and we have made a deal for Gary Cahill which we pursued for some time," he said. "That was what we needed for the squad."

Cahill started on the bench at the Liberty Stadium with Branislav Ivanovic preferred at the heart of the back four in the absence of John Terry.

"There has been solidarity in our defensive displays of late and the team has been playing well. Because of that, we decided not to change the dynamic of the team for this game.

"I spoke to Gary regarding the decision and it was well taken."

Villas-Boas was happy with his side's overall performance and felt that his side could have gone on to win the game had they have scored a little earlier in a one-sided second half.

"I think if the first goal had have come a little bit earlier, a second might have come because of the motivation and momentum we would have had.

"But Swansea defended well and although we scored, we had no time to get the winning goal.

"I thought Swansea were excellent. Their style collides a bit with what is cultural in English football, but we have to praise it.

"I think first half we conceded the space to them and they are magnificent in finding those gaps. They play in between you, but when you press them it is more difficult for them."

Villas-Boas was not too despondent about another goalless night for Fernando Torres who has gone 1,000 minutes without scoring.

"I think the confidence is there. We have to persist with him and he helped the team today with his movement, his lay-offs and his passing.

"So again, it is the same situation, we have to continue creating enough opportunities, maybe more."

"Fernando and Didier Drogba are fighting for the striker's position so when Didier arrives back from the African Cup of Nations it will be further competition for Fernando."

Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers praised his side's attitude.

"I am very proud of the players and for them to feel so disappointed about not beating Chelsea, says it all.

"We will deal with the disappointment well. That's the third big club we have had here in a row and we have drawn twice and beaten Arsenal.

"You must remember also, that we have not lost two league games in a row all season. I think it is only us and Manchester City can say that. So, no, we won't have a hangover from the disappointment of this.

"That's an incredible record and although we will reflect on tonight, it tells you about the mentality of this side."

Chelsea reveal large annual loss

Premier League giants Chelsea announced on Tuesday a total loss of £67.7 million ($106.6m, 81.6m euros) for the financial year ending June 30, 2011.

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But for Chelsea, bankrolled by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, this represented a reduction on a previous operating loss of £70.9m as the London club tried to comply with UEFA's new financial fair play rules.

Failure to fall in line with the European football governing body's regulations, designed to ensure a more level playing field for the continent's leading clubs, could see sides barred from lucrative tournaments such as the Champions League.

Transfer fees were a major factor in the loss but Chelsea were able to declare a record group turnover of £222.3m.

This was an improvement on last year's £205.8m, with increased revenues from the Champions League and a rise in the Stamford Bridge side's income from the central Premier League television contract boosting turnover.

"The club is focused on complying with the requirements of UEFA's financial fair play regulations while maintaining its ability to challenge for major trophies," Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck told the club's website on Tuesday.

"We would expect this to be reflected in our results for the current financial year."

Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay added: "Achieving a record level of turnover is satisfying given the economic background against which we are operating."

The Blues are currently fourth in the Premier League, 13 points behind leaders Manchester City, and find themselves in the unusual position of not being the best-placed top-flight club in London, with Tottenham Hotspur five points in front of them in third position.

However, Chelsea are through to the last 16 of the FA Cup, where they will face second-tier Birmingham.

Their next match sees Chelsea travel to Wales for a Premier League fixture away to Swansea later on Tuesday.

Chelsea seal De Bruyne deal

Chelsea have completed the signing of highly-rated midfielder Kevin de Bruyne from Genk, the Belgian club have announced.

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The 20-year-old has signed a five-and-a-half-year deal and will remain at the Belgian champions on loan until the end of the season.

De Bruyne, who is predominantly a left-sided player, has been on Chelsea's radar for some time and has played twice against the London club in this year's Champions League group stages.

A statement on Genk's website read: "The transfer of Kevin De Bruyne to Chelsea has been completed. He has signed for five and a half seasons and will continue (playing with) Genk until June.

"His signature was confirmed at 0.30 last night. De Bruyne and his agent will return back today from London, along with general director Dirk Degraen.

"Genk will hold a press conference with (director) Jacob Gunther and Dirk Degraen in which they will clarify the transfer policy.

"Afterwards, Kevin De Bruyne will also give an explanation about his transfer to the English club."

Terry out of Swansea match

John Terry is to miss Chelsea's Premier League match away to Swansea on Tuesday -- less than a day before a court case begins into allegations he racially abused QPR defender Anton Ferdinand.

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However, Chelsea insisted the decision not to field the England captain at the Liberty Stadium was taken purely on medical grounds.

Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas said they did not want the central defender aggravating a right knee injury he first suffered when colliding with a post in this month's FA Cup victory over Portsmouth.

Terry played through the pain barrier in last weekend's Cup win over QPR -- the first time he and Ferdinand had faced one another since their on-pitch confrontation in October led prosecutors to press racial abuse charges, which the Chelsea skipper has always denied.

The Blues hope to have Terry back for Sunday's Premier League match against champions Manchester United and Villas-Boas told Chelsea TV: "It's just a bone oedema that he has been carrying for some time since he collided with a post, if I am not wrong against Portsmouth, and this stops him a little bit.

"It's nothing serious but something to keep an eye on. He has had an MRI (scan) before and he should be ok for Man United."

Ramires is also out of the Swansea match after damaging medial ligaments at Loftus Road, although Chelsea hope to have the Brazilian back for next month's Champions League game against Napoli.

"With what could have happened, it's just good news that he will be out for a short amount of time," said Villas-Boas.

"Hopefully he will be available for the Napoli game, and hopefully before."

The legal proceedings involving Terry are set to start at London's Westminster Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

Blues could give Terry time off

Chelsea are prepared to give John Terry time off in his fight to clear his name over allegations of racist abuse, manager Andre Villas-Boas has confirmed.

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Blues and England captain Terry has continued to play for both club and country since it was first alleged that he racially abused QPR defender Anton Ferdinand during October's Barclays Premier League game at Loftus Road.

Terry has faced jeers and taunts since then, never more so than during his return to Rangers on Saturday, four days before his court case was due to begin at Westminster Magistrates Court. Terry denies racially abusing Ferdinand, and should a magistrates trial take place during the season, Villas-Boas will consider allowing Terry to take time off. He said: "Eventually, if it is important for the justice, we will do it."

But Villas-Boas insisted he would continue to play his captain as long as he continues to display the kind of form he showed on Saturday, with the defender not putting a foot wrong in Chelsea's FA Cup fourth-round 1-0 win.

"You have seen with the off-field events, we haven't stopped using John, and his level of performance has not been affected," he said. "If that continues to be the case, we will continue to do it."

QPR fans were merciless in their abuse of Terry but he wisely chose not to react.

Villas-Boas said: "He is a player that has been through various situations, situations of stress and great, difficult atmospheres.

"Bearing in mind the events that have happened in the past, he showed that this was just another game for him and he was just interested in football. He had an extremely good performance."

Reports: Mourinho England-bound

Reports on Saturday night claimed Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho will return to the Premier League next season.

Although Real are seven points clear at the top of the Primera Division, Mourinho's position is by no means secure with controversy never far away ever since his move from Inter Milan in May 2010.

The 49-year-old has not managed to break Barcelona's dominance in matches between the two rivals while he has attracted negative headlines for a number of unsavoury episodes.

Last weekend he was booed and whistled by some Real fans responding to others chanting his name although he professed to be unconcerned.

Last month Real president Florentino Perez insisted the Portuguese was the man to usurp Barca, saying: "Signing Jose Mourinho has been my best decision as president of Real Madrid."

Over Christmas Mourinho reiterated his desire to return to England "in a couple of years" - although he later clarified his comments, explaining he had not literally meant two years, but a few.

He insisted he wanted to see the fruit of his labour at the Bernabeu, saying: "I don't see the moment when I'm going to leave nor do I want to leave."

However, reports are claiming he will choose to leave Real and return England once the current season is over.

Mourinho spent a little over three years at Chelsea from June 2004, twice winning the league and league cup as well as the FA Cup before his sudden exit in September 2007.

Mata sends Blues through

Juan Mata's penalty helped Chelsea secure a 1-0 victory in a tempestuous FA Cup fourth-round tie at west London rivals QPR.

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Much of the build-up surrounded John Terry and Anton Ferdinand, who was spared having to shake the Chelsea skipper's hand after the Football Association gave permission to scrap the traditional pre-match ritual.

Terry was taunted throughout at Loftus Road but seemed unaffected by the abuse as the visitors edged through to the fifth round thanks to a soft-looking penalty, given when Clint Hill was adjudged to have brought down Daniel Sturridge.

Chelsea down QPR after spot-kick controversy

Chelsea booked their place in the last 16 of the FA Cup on Saturday after a controversial penalty saw them defeat west London rivals Queens Park Rangers 1-0 at Loftus Road.

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The first meeting of the two sides since the stormy clash which led to Chelsea captain John Terry being accused of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand never lived up to the pre-match hype.

Rangers defender Ferdinand was spared the awkward dilemma of whether or not to shake Terry's hand in the pre-match build-up after the FA ruled there would be no handshake shortly before kick-off.

A disappointing fourth round tie was settled on 62 minutes when Chelsea midfielder Juan Mata sent Paddy Kenny the wrong way from the penalty spot.

However Rangers were seething at referee Mike Dean's decision to award a penalty, the official ruling that Clint Hill had fouled Daniel Sturridge as the two players came together in the box.

Television replays later suggested Hill had made only the slightest contact with Sturridge, but Dean remained unmoved by QPR protests and Mata stepped up to coolly stroke home the winner.

Handshakes off at Loftus Road

Anton Ferdinand was spared having to shake John Terry's hand before QPR's FA Cup clash with Chelsea on Saturday afternoon.

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The Football Association gave the clubs permission not to take part in the traditional pre-match handshake, amid uncertainty as to whether Rangers defender Ferdinand would snub Terry.

The Cup game was the first time the two sides had met since Terry was charged with racially abusing Ferdinand during October's Premier League game between the two. Terry has denied the offence and Ferdinand was reportedly agonising over whether or not to accept his hand.

The FA released a statement to Press Association Sport, which read: "Following discussions on Friday evening and Saturday morning involving senior officials from QPR, Chelsea and the FA, it has been agreed there will not be the usual team handshake before today's FA Cup fourth-round tie at Loftus Road.

"The FA agreed to the request by both clubs in an attempt to further defuse tensions before the match."

Those tensions were raised on Friday night when Metropolitan Police announced they were investigating a "malicious communication" sent to QPR and addressed to Ferdinand.

There were reports the package contained a bullet but the contents remained unconfirmed by both police and the club on Saturday afternoon..

But the matter was serious enough to prompt Rangers and Chelsea to announce all fans entering Loftus Road would be subject to "full searches" before entering the ground.

Stewards were seen using handheld metal detectors, with some donning protective goggles, while there was a heavier than usual police presence.