Top-four finish could be out of the question, admits Mourinho

Jose Mourinho has admitted Chelsea may have to accept that a top-four finish is beyond them, and instead concentrate on making the top six in the Premier League.

The champions slumped to their eighth defeat of the season as Glenn Murray’s header sealed a shock 1-0 win for AFC Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

And Mourinho, whose side sit on 15 points – 14 behind fourth-placed Manchester United – believes that Champions League qualification may well be out of the question.

“I am concerned of course. There is no chance that Chelsea will be fighting relegation. That is not the problem. It is that our objective is to finish top four,” he said.

“Before this game it was realistic to think that our quality would take us out of this position, but maybe now we have to think about top six.

“It is really disappointing because the team was playing better and more confident and we did not expect to lose. But there is no time to be crying – in three days we have an important game in the Champions League.”