Cech talks up Mourinho hunger

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech has dismissed suggestions that Jose Mourinho’s hunger has waned ahead of his second spell at the club.

The Portuguese won two Premier League titles, two League Cups and an FA Cup during his first stint at Stamford Bridge, but departed after three years following a breakdown in his relationship with owner Roman Abramovich.

And, despite Mourinho returning after trophy-laden stays with Inter and Real Madrid, Cech believes the 50-year-old remains as keen as ever to win silverware.

“Jose Mourinho can’t be more hungry,” he said. “He didn’t come back to enjoy his life. We are all here to try to prepare and to try to win things together.

“He’s the same (as before). The motivation is the same, the hunger for success is the same and you can see that the demand he has for the team is the same. He wants to be the best, we would like to be the best – let’s see if we can fulfil our expectations.”

The Czech Republic international went on to explain that Chelsea will be targeting victory in every competition they enter during the 2013-14 season.

“We need trophies (for stability). If we fulfil our targets, for sure we will keep the same manager. We will have a go. We will try to win as much as we can. We will count the trophies at the end of the season,” he added.

“A club of the size of Chelsea football club, you need to target as best as possible and see if you can make it or not. Last season we won the Europa League; it was the first time the club had played in the competition and we managed to win it.

“It was a successful campaign, but obviously our target is to play better in the Champions League than we did last season. If we can challenge the teams to win it, we will try to do it.

“We always want to win the Premier League. The last two campaigns in the Premier League were not the ones we wanted and we want to do better.”