Mourinho: Chelsea's Brazil stars needed a pre-season

Oscar and Willian both scored in the Blues' 3-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday and their manager believes they are improving as a result of being rested in recent matches

Sep 29, 2014 10:59:00

Jose Mourinho insists the lack of a post-World Cup holiday and full pre-season has hampered Chelsea's Brazilian contingent so far this term.

The Blues maintained their unbeaten start to the season and three-point lead at the top of the Premier League with a 3-0 victory over Aston Villa on Saturday, with Oscar and Willian both finding the net.

Mourinho believes both men are now showing signs of improvement as a result of his squad rotation policy but insists the international football calendar is placing increasingly dangerous demands on footballers.

“[Willian] didn’t start the season well," the Chelsea boss told reporters. "I think everyone that came from the Brazil national team without a proper holiday and without a proper pre-season, not one of them had enough time in the pre-season to start the season in a very strong way.

"All of them are coming step by step. Oscar is the same. Now they are getting into the intensity of the game.

"It is physical. Players need holidays, but they don’t always have them. They need a proper pre-season, but they don’t have a proper pre-season.

“I think players are getting in trouble and when I anticipate the next pre-season it will be even worse, because there will be international matches, where every players has to go with his national team. After that they are going to have maybe two weeks pre-season.”