Jose Mourinho 'responsible' despite ban from Chelsea bench

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho will miss the trip to Stoke City on Saturday but has still promised to take "responsibility" for the Premier League champions when they are at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday.

The Portuguese was punished for his behaviour towards officials at half-time of Chelsea's 2-1 defeat by West Ham, but has already adapted by giving his staff detailed plans for the Stoke game.

Asked why he would not appeal against the ban, Mourinho again implied on Friday that he is suffering from double standards, and said that being given a stadium ban for language -- as opposed to aggressive behaviour -- sets a precedent for more such punishments.

"Because the match is tomorrow and because I know the result of that appeal already, and I decided to give up," Mourinho told a news conference at Chelsea's training ground in Cobham, southwest of London.

"It's stupid to fight a fight that you know you'll already lose," he added, having come under intense pressure this season with Chelsea now a lowly 15th in the 20-team Premier League.

"I travel with them, yes. I travel with them and will be with them until the moment somebody stops me, which is, I think, when I am in the limit of the compound of the stadium," Mourinho explained.

"We know when I have to stop. I have to get out (of the coach) before. I don't know (where I watch the game).

"I have no plans. Maybe I sit in the street corner with my iPad. I don't know."

- Ivanovic, Falcao -

His staff do know how to handle the game, he insisted, due to his planning.

"I will be in charge. Every responsibility is my responsibility," Mourinho said. "My staff are completely free of that extra pressure. That doesn't belong to their jobs. It's my responsibility.

"If after 10 minutes we are playing with seven men, it's something I didn't prepare my assistants for. They'd have to decide themselves.

"It's just for the players to play and for the assistants to be with them and supportive with them," the Chelsea boss added.

He added: "I know the situation where I am in relation to the football power in this country, and I have to adapt. I have to adapt to it."

Mourinho also believes the decision opens up more potential stadium bans for other managers.

Mourinho confirmed that Branislav Ivanovic is available again after a hamstring injury, but that Radamel Falcao is out with a muscular problem.

Source: AFP