Mourinho wants credit for success

Chelsea FC approach the next hurdle in their quest for UEFA Champions League glory with manager José Mourinho insisting their achievements in adversity this season are more deserving of praise even than the previous two campaigns when they were crowned champions of England.

Progress
As his players prepare to build on the 1-1 draw they gained in the first leg at FC Porto, Mourinho cited a number of reasons why they can be proud of the progress they have made this term. This competition is one of three remaining targets on Chelsea's horizon with an FA Cup quarter-final against Tottenham Hotspur FC to follow this weekend and the English League Cup already in the bag after their defeat of Arsenal FC a week last Sunday.

Credit due
The most difficult prize would appear to be the Premiership, with Manchester United FC maintaining a nine-point advantage. That might lead to the assumption, said Mourinho, that Chelsea have not been as good as last season "when the opposite is the case". He added: "To be where we are in the Champions League, having come through a very difficult group when we have been without Petr Čech for half a season, John Terry for half a season and Joe Cole for the whole season, gives us a lot of credit."

'Motivation'
The Portuguese spoke enthusiastically of the contributions of Michael Essien, Ricardo Carvalho, Frank Lampard, Lassana Diarra, Čech – "who looks an even better goalkeeper than he was before" his head injury – and his attacking players, who have had to shoulder the burden of a weakened squad. Mourinho added: "My desire is not to beat Porto, my desire is to be in the quarter-finals. This team deserves to win more. My motivation is that at the end of the season, the players have another cup in their hands."

Terry absence
Mourinho's one regret is that he is unable to field his strongest XI against the club he guided to the summit of the European game three years ago. Terry needs more time to recover from the head injury which saw him carried off against Arsenal, so it is likely that Essien will again fill the vacancy in central defence.

Captain fit
Jesualdo Ferreira's team arrived in London without right-back Bosingwa after he sustained a thigh problem in the Liga leaders' 1-0 defeat of SC Braga, although Porto captain Lucho González has overcome a similar complaint suffered on Saturday. The coach has a decision to make about whom to give goalscoring responsibilities to, with weekend matchwinner Adriano putting pressure on Hélder Postiga.

'Strong record'
Ferreira is fully respectful of Chelsea's achievements, but says Porto are good enough to reach the quarter-finals. "We are a young team but a good team," he said. "We have to be more sure of ourselves than we were in the first leg, but it doesn't worry us that Chelsea have such a strong record at home as that does not mean anything in itself. This is a game between a great team and a team that wants to become great."

Probable teams
Chelsea: Petr Čech; Lassana Diarra, Michael Essien, Ricardo Carvalho, Wayne Bridge; Claude Makelele, Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack, Arjen Robben; Didier Drogba, Andriy Shevchenko.

Porto: Helton; Fucile, Pepe, Bruno Alves, Lucas Mareque; Paulo Assunção, Raul Meireles, Lucho González; Ricardo Quaresma, Lisandro López, Hélder Postiga.