Chelsea vs. Swansea City: Jose Mourinho's Key Pre-Match Presser Comments

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho came to the defence of star striker Diego Costa on Friday during his final pre-match presser ahead of the club's Premier League opener against Swansea City on Saturday. Costa might not be fit in time to face the Welsh side, but per ESPN.com's Miguel Delaney, Mourinho doesn't mind if his players pick up an injury or two, as long as they perform when they're healthy:

The Portuguese manager refused to rule out Costa for the opener at Stamford Bridge, but he told reporters he will go with Radamel Falcao or Loic Remy if the Spain international doesn't make it, per the club's official Twitter account.  

Neither Falcao nor Remy have looked particularly sharp during the pre-season, but the Frenchman did his job when called upon in the 2014-15 campaign. In all likelihood, Remy will be given the nod should Costa be forced to sit this one out.

Looking ahead to the upcoming season, Mourinho told the reporters he believes the gap between the Premier League's top clubs and the rest of the bunch is shrinking:

The Special One has never been a big fan of press conferences and alluded to that several times on Friday. His talk with the media didn't last very long, and he told everyone he'd rather be talking about silverware in a couple of months:

Mourinho also took a dig at Everton manager Roberto Martinez on the very same topic. As reported by the Guardian's Andy Hunter, Martinez believes Chelsea are tapping up star defender John Stones, an illegal move, and when asked about the Spaniard's comments, Mourinho couldn't help himself:

He also provided an update on the club's transfer dealings, acknowledging the need to bring in another left-back following the sale of Filipe Luis:

The defending Premier League champions will be fielding largely the same squad that won the title last year when they face Swansea on Saturday, and fans at Stamford Bridge will be expecting another strong run toward the title in 2015-16.

Compared to their main rivals, the Blues have been fairly quiet on the transfer market so far, and it will be interesting to see whether Mourinho uses these final weeks of the transfer window to add some reinforcements to his squad or rolls the dice on the team that won him the title last year.

The man himself admitted clubs all over the Premier League are getting better, and the same holds true for the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City. Chelsea do have an abundance of young talented players eager to make their mark, but whether they're ready to shine on the highest level is anyone's guess.

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