Cech was disappointed that manager Mourinho left him in the dark over his decision to make Thibaut Courtois Chelsea’s new No 1 for the opening Premier League game against Burnley.
Courtois will keep his place for Saturday’s clash with Leicester City, but Mourinho feels no remorse over the way he has handled the situation and insisted he would not make the first move to speak with Cech.
Mourinho admitted he would listen to Cech if he asked to leave Stamford Bridge and confirmed one Chelsea player was set to leave the club on loan before the transfer window shut.
Paris St-Germain and Monaco are both keen to take Cech on a permanent deal or on loan, with Chelsea needing to shed a foreign player to comply with Premier League rules. Marco van Ginkel’s agent has suggested the midfielder may leave to find first-team football.
Asked whether he had spoken personally to Cech, Mourinho replied: “No. Because if I speak with him, tomorrow I have to speak to another one, another one, another one. I’ve never done this in my career.
“I don’t have to speak to players about decisions. For me, it’s the club, the team and then the players. The club is not under my control. The team, yes. So I want the players to see that everything I do is thinking about the team. I don’t like to be always justifying my decisions to the players.”
Cech has been the best goalkeeper in the Premier League for the past decade and has won every domestic and European honour with Chelsea. But Mourinho insists the 32-year-old’s achievements do not mean he should be given any special treatment.
“I don’t make exceptions, no,” said Mourinho. “I didn’t with Frank Lampard. I didn’t with anyone, with Drogba before the last game. I don’t speak with players about that. I never did. Is Petr totally happy? I don’t believe. But it’s not just him. It’s everyone who didn’t start the [Burnley] game.”
Although he would like Cech to stay and fight for his place, Mourinho admits Chelsea will consider any request from the Czech Republic international to leave.
Mourinho will leave it until the final days of the transfer window, after Chelsea’s game against Everton next Saturday, to make a final decision over how best to cut down his squad to fulfil foreign player quotas.
“The players all know where my office is,” said Mourinho. “I know it’s a bit far for them, the last office in the corridor, but they know where I am. If they need an explanation, I never close the door. I’ll give one. Petr didn’t come to me. He worked fantastically well in the group, with his mates, polite and professional.
“I hope Petr doesn’t ask to go. If that situation comes, obviously this club and myself, he deserves us sitting with him and listening to him. But I repeat this moment hasn’t arrived.
“I have no plan about who will leave. The plan is to let it go, play the matches and then make a decision in the last 48 hours. When a player is not able to make the Premier League list, obviously he can’t stay in the club just training. That player will obviously have to go out on loan.”
Written by Steve Milne
