Kurt Zouma has admitted that Jose Mourinho did manage to instruct his players at half-time during Chelsea’s defeat to Stoke.
The manager was handed a one-game stadium ban for his remonstrations to referee Jonathan Moss at half-time of October’s loss against West Ham. Mourinho was not allowed to enter the Britannia Stadium as his side slipped to a 1-0 loss, their seventh in 12 league games.
However Zouma confirmed that his manager was able to get his messages to the team during half-time.
He told Telefoot: “The pre-match chat happened at the hotel and when we arrived at the ground, he was no longer with us.
“It is the other coach [Steve Holland] who took charge and at half-time they spoke by messaging – they swapped text messages or they called each other I think.
“The assistant told us what he had said and then he [Mourinho] joined us after and told us we had played a good match. He was disappointed, like everyone because we lost. I think we could have won that match. We deserved to win it, I think, but we lost.”
Zouma offered his support to his under-fire manager, whose future has been in doubt during a disastrous start to Chelsea’s title defence.
Player Ratings: Stoke City vs Chelsea
There have been consistent reports that Mourinho has lost the support of several key players in recent weeks but Zouma has denied that claim.
“I don’t think the dressing room has abandoned him,” he added. “On the level of performances, it is not like last year for sure. But mentally we are still all together, we are a group.
"The coach has always been behind us and we are behind him just like the supporters are. I think that is still the same situation.”
