Chelsea boss hails ‘fantastic’ Drogba
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho says Didier Drogba’s contribution in the club’s hour of need has been “fantastic”.
Blues legend Drogba has scored three goals in three games while deputising for injured duo Diego Costa and Loic Remy – including the header that put Chelsea ahead in the 1-1 against Manchester United last Sunday.
“Didier was fantastic for us in the last week when we were in real trouble without Diego and Remy,” Mourinho said of the 36-year-old, who also netted against Maribor before the trip to Old Trafford and against Shrewsbury two days after facing Louis van Gaal’s side.
“He was doing something that nobody should do, which is to play two 90 minutes’ football in 48 hours.
“He managed to do that in an absolutely fantastic way.”
And Mourinho feels Drogba’s impact and contribution has already proved it was correct to re-sign the Ivorian veteran in the summer.
Drogba won three Premier League titles during his first spell at Stamford Bridge and his farewell gift to the Blues was scoring the late equaliser and then the winning penalty in the 2012 Champions League victory.
The three goals in his second spell means he has now scored 160 times for the club.
“For such a legend at this club, it was a difficult to decision to take and we took it together – owner, board, me, him – all of us together,” Mourinho explained.
“We believed in him and he believed in himself and thinking that he still had conditions to be important, which he always was at this club.
“To be important, you don’t need at the age of 36 to play 90 minutes of 50 matches. You need to be there when the team needs you to be there.”
Costa has been passed fit to return for Saturday’s west London derby against QPR, while Rangers are still without Joey Barton, Jordon Mutch and Nedum Onuoha.
Follow West London Sport on Twitter
Find us on Facebook
