Mackay brushes off Mourinho claim

25 October 2013 16:46

Cardiff boss Malky Mackay has suggested Jose Mourinho's assertion that his side are time-wasters is hypocritical.

The Chelsea manager lambasted the Bluebirds for what he saw as negative tactics during last weekend's 4-1 win over the Welsh club.

Mourinho was sent to the stands by the officials after venting his fury, and subsequently received an £8,000 fine from the Football Association for "improper conduct".

Mackay, who is preparing his side for Saturday's meeting with Norwich at Carrow Road, insists he has not been concerned by Mourinho's comments about Cardiff.

But the Scot was also quick to point out the Portuguese has previously been accused of time-wasting himself, including during the 2003 UEFA Cup final between Porto and Celtic.

"It doesn't really bother me in the slightest," said Mackay. "I am pretty sure it was borne out of the frustration at being sent off.

"I think when you look at four minutes stoppage time being held up, nowadays that is a pretty normal standard amount of time in the second half.

"You speak to the fourth officials and they tell you that it's 30 seconds for a sub, 30 seconds for a goal.

"There were three goals in the second half, and five subs.

"Everyone is the same in terms of that. When you are frustrated it is something else you might blame.

"I remember watching Porto play Celtic in the UEFA Cup final a long time ago, that allegation was labelled at him by Martin O'Neill at the end of the game. It is just something that is borne out of frustration at being sent off."

At the time O'Neill had said of Mourinho's team: "I will probably get into trouble for this, but it was poor sportsmanship. The rolling over, the time wasting."

Mackay's own frustration stemmed from the manner in which Chelsea equalised after Jordon Mutch had put the Bluebirds ahead at Stamford Bridge, with Eden Hazard profiting when Samuel Eto'o was wrongly allowed to rob David Marshall of possession as the keeper bounced the ball in his box.

Mackay has since sought clarification from Professional Game Match Officials chief Mike Riley on the incident, and was expecting to receive a response on Friday.

But with Cardiff and Norwich both down in the lower reaches of the Premier League table, Mackay says the time has come to move on and focus on the task of picking up an important three points.

"There is always a sense you feel you have been hard done by when you feel there is some sort of injustice that happens, but you have got to get it out of your head quickly," he said.

"It is something that happens to every team all over the land at some point. Come the end of the game we reflect on it, but there was a lot of good things to come from the game.

"Had we have gone in at half-time 1-0 up, it would have been a slightly different team talk and different approach, but looking at the performance, which is what I look at every week, I was very, very happy with the performance of a lot of my players against a team who are going to be challenging for the Premier League title.

"Now we face a side who I think have got experience throughout their team. They have invested again and there are guys who have played together for many years.

"I think the atmosphere, the tight pitch, always make for a tough game at Carrow Road. I have never had an easy one and that included when I played there."

Source: PA