Chelsea: Mourinho defiant as he makes Thibaut Courtois his No 1 goalkeeper

Time to shine: Thibaut Courtois has been given vote of confidence by Jose Mourinho Photo: ACTION IMAGES
Thibaut Courtois is ready to be named Chelsea’s new No 1 for Monday night’s game against Premier League new boys Burnley.
Belgium international Courtois has the chance to make the Chelsea goalkeeping position his own and end Petr Cech’s 10-year grip on the club’s gloves.
Courtois made it clear that he only wanted to return from his three years on loan at Atletico Madrid to play first-team football at Chelsea.
It seems that, barring any last-minute changes of heart or injuries, manager Jose Mourinho has granted Courtois his wish, which will put 32-year-old Cech’s future in doubt.
Chelsea are braced for a flurry of bids for Cech, whose situation is being closely monitored by Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco and Real Madrid.
Cech will not accept sitting on the substitutes’ bench for long, but Mourinho will not attempt to justify himself to either the Czech Republic international or 22-year-old Courtois.
“If they need to speak to me individually, obviously I never refuse that,” said Mourinho. “But I never give individual explanations.”
Courtois is likely to be given a run of games to establish himself, despite the fact Mourinho has promised that the door is not closed on whoever misses out against Burnley.
“My number one will be my number one,” said Mourinho. “Not forever obviously because I cannot kill competition. I cannot close the door for someone into the team. I cannot give any player a guarantee that he is in the first team forever if he doesn’t perform.
“Obviously, you don’t change a keeper if he makes a mistake, but you can change him if he makes five. What is my first-choice today might not be my first-choice tomorrow. But if the goalkeeper gives stability to the team I don’t feel I need to change or to play one in one competition and one in another.
“I must support the keeper, the one that is not first choice. Support him is not to give him a Capital One Cup game. It is to show him my trust when no one is expecting that he plays. I remember I did that with Cech and Cudicini. I played Cudicini against Betis in the Champions League in the first game of the group, not in the sixth when we were qualified.
“I also played him in one league match when we were not champions, not after being champions. The best way to show a player that you trust him is to play him when nobody expects it and in games where there are responsibilities, and with these two goalkeepers I can do that when I want.”
Mourinho believes he has two of the best goalkeepers in the world and is delighted with the strength of his squad ahead of Chelsea’s first game.
“We have an improvement in the goalkeeper group,” said Mourinho. “We have in defence also because we got Zouma and Filipe, and that gives us balance. Filipe is a pure left back which allows Azpilicueta to play on the right and Ivanovic can play in the centre, so that gives us more options.
“Cesc is the kind of player that we didn’t have. We had a box-to-box, a runner, a stable player. We never had this kind of football brain, so that has improved. Costa has the power, mobility and technical quality that improves the team. Didier is still a player with important qualities and he has a special feeling in the group to persuade people to work hard.”
Mourinho admitted his team selection for the first two or three games will be influenced by the fitness of his players following the World Cup.
“The final group was back very late,” said Mourinho. “Are they ready individually? No, but we have to be ready as a team for Monday. Probably the first two or three matches will be more about the team that is ready than what I have in my mind as a first-team choice.”
Telegraph, UK