Jose Mourinho to appeal against £50,000 fine and suspended stadium ban
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho will appeal against the Football Association's £50,000 fine and one-match suspended stadium ban, saying: "I have to be honest with myself."
Mourinho was sanctioned for comments made following the October 3 loss to Southampton in which he said referee Robert Madeley was "afraid" to give the Blues a penalty.
The Portuguese on Friday confirmed he had received the FA's written reasons and will appeal.
"I have to be honest with myself. It's the most important thing so I have to appeal," Mourinho said.
"The moment we got the written reasons and I decided to appeal is the moment to stop with my opinions and not to add anything more than I did already.
"I think I was very objective in my sadness facing the situation."
Mourinho is defiant in his belief Chelsea will climb up the table - and this weekend's opponents Aston Villa's record at Stamford Bridge is one win in 13 Premier League games.
"We cannot run away from the reality of the table in the Premier League," Mourinho said.
"Obviously we know that we're not going to be relegated, we know that in a couple of months we will be in a position where we normally have to be.
"But the reality now, today, tomorrow before the game starts is the reality of the numbers and the numbers are very cruel, but objective and we need points."
Mourinho also believes Villa have the quality to climb out of their predicament.
"A team that the manager is trying to rebuild having lost probably their two most important players of the team (Christian Benteke and Fabian Delph)," he said.
"I don't believe Aston Villa will be in this position in a couple of months."
Striker Diego Costa is available, but right-back Branislav Ivanovic is out.
Costa has completed a three-match ban for violent conduct, but Ivanovic suffered a hamstring injury on duty with Serbia and faces around three weeks out, joining goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois (knee) in the treatment room.
Gabby Agbonlahor continues to be sidelined with a calf injury for struggling Aston Villa.
The forward has been out since last month, but winger Adama Traore (ankle) is available after three weeks in the treatment room.
Midfielder Jack Grealish has regained match fitness during the international break, but defenders Jores Okore (knee) and Ciaran Clark (thigh) remain on the sidelines.
Boss Tim Sherwood admitted he is fighting for his future but insisted he will guide Aston Villa to safety.
The manager is facing scrutiny with Villa third bottom of the Barclays Premier League having not won since the opening day of the season.
Sherwood, who was appointed in February, also dismissed suggestions he had been given two games to save himself ahead of Saturday's trip to Chelsea but knows he must start winning.
He said: "I have no understanding of this, no one has spoken to me about two games. I am realistic enough to know that I'm a football manager who needs to win football matches and we haven't done that. So if you don't win games as a manager, you get sacked, that's what happens.
"I haven't put a number on it. All I know is I'm a football manager and I take full responsibility for results. I'm not hiding in the background. I'm standing up there in that rectangle at the front of the pitch, taking the brunt of it, that's what I get paid for.
"We lost two managers last week and before that it was their names. Mine is at the front of the queue at the moment and hopefully over the next couple of weeks it will be someone else's.
"The objective of this season was to stay in the Premier League - 100 per cent we'll stay in the Premier League this season, I've got full belief in that and then we would have reached our objective."
Source: PAR
