Chelsea boss Mourinho jumps to defence of Ivanovic

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has jumped to the defence of Branislav Ivanovic.

Mourinho has stuck by his vice-captain despite Ivanovic's woeful recent form.

He said: "In here we speak openly. 'You did that, you could to that, you could help your mate, I did that mistake but you could do a bit better to compensate for my mistake.'

"We communicate openly. No prima donnas crying. Everyone wants to do well and accepts the criticisms, knows the job and knows what let the team down.

"Ivanovic likes to speak with me, and Ivanovic likes to speak with me about his mistakes, and is not crying.

"He's not crying, he's not a prima donna, and I'm critical with him. We speak about what he has to do to try and improve.

"I have no doubts he is my best right-back, and that he has to improve in some aspects of his game this season. Simple as that."