Mourinho worries over fixture pile-up before Valencia tie

COBHAM, England, Mar 12 (Reuters) Coach Jose Mourinho expressed his concern today that Chelsea's fixture congestion will leave them at a disadvantage in their Champions League quarter-final with Valencia.

The champions face a particularly busy schedule ahead of the first leg at Stamford Bridge on April 4 after being held 3-3 by Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup quarter-finals yesterday.

That result has added a replay at Spurs on March 19 to a programme that already involves three Premier League games and two international matchdays on March 24 and 28, which will also draw heavily on his squad's resources.

By contrast, Valencia have a relatively quiet build-up.

''Yesterday I was watching Valencia and I analysed what they have to do until they play against us,'' Mourinho told a news conference at Chelsea's training ground.

''They play only two matches, at home in the Spanish League.

They have two complete weeks to train, and when I say train I mean to train properly, tactically, with a big game in mind.

ONLY GOALKEEPERS ''Also, during the national team period, I will have with me only (goalkeepers) Cudicini and Hilario - nothing else. Everybody else goes away.

''But during these 15 days, Valencia have a couple of Spanish players in the national team and a Portuguese right-back and that's it.

''During the next three and a half weeks my players have to play Man City, Sheffield and Watford in the Premiership plus Tottenham in the FA Cup, plus two international games. So they have six matches - and Valencia players have two.

''So of course it worries me. Not just because you can get injuries but because you can get tired. And, as a manager I can't do my work.'' Mourinho was also frustrated by newspaper reports linking him with a move to Real Madrid at the end of the season.

''What I can tell you is as always the press choose the words they want to choose and not the words that people say,'' said the coach, who was speaking at a news conference for children's cancer charity ClicSargent.

''The question was 'would I like to train Real Madrid?' The answer was 'every coach would like to do it, it would be an honour to work in a club like Real Madrid' ''I don't say 'no' for the future, but I say clearly 'no' until 2010 because I have a contract with Chelsea.

''I want to stay in Chelsea. I am in love with Chelsea. I am in love with English football.'' Reuters PDS DB2027