Soccer-Chelsea should be further ahead in title race, says morose Mourinho

 Chelsea should be more than five points ahead of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League, according to a morose Jose Mourinho who reluctantly returned to speak to the media on Friday after refusing to talk last week.

Mourinho, asked why he looked so glum, told reporters: "You know why I am here, so you cannot expect me to be super-happy to be here. I am here because I have to be here."

Asked whether he refused to talk to the media last week because the FA sanctioned striker Diego Costa for stamping on Emre Can in the League Cup semi-final, Mourinho gave a typically cryptic answer.

"If you want you can make a silence very noisy," he said.

"It depends what you want to do. You could make a noise with my silence because you know the reason for my silence. If I was a journalist I could make lots of words."

Asked if he stayed away just because of the three-match ban the FA imposed on Costa, he replied: "Not just."

Asked how he reflected on the ban, he replied: "I don't reflect. Because maybe I am punished if I reflect so I don't even think about it because maybe they can read my reflection."

Mourinho also seemed unhappy that Chelsea were only five points clear of champions Manchester City after last week's 1-1 draw between the top two at Stamford Bridge.

"I feel the distance could be much bigger, because if I analyse the last five, six or seven matches, then we could, we should, have a bigger difference."

Chelsea, the league's highest scorers, travel to Aston Villa who have scored fewer goals than anyone else and none in their last six matches.

Chelsea start as the overwhelming favourites, but had Willian and Ramires sent off at Villa Park last season when they went down to a surprise 1-0 defeat.

"Some matches are impossible to win and you have to be smart enough to understand that was one of them," he said.

New signing Juan Cuadrado, the Colombian international winger who joined from Fiorentina for 23 million pounds ($35 million) last month, could make his debut at Villa Park.

"We don't need him in goal and we don't need him as a central defender because he is too small," Mourinho said. "After that, he can play everywhere.

"I think he can play against Villa unless the Premier League or the FA say there are some rules to stop him."