Victor Moses has appeared to lash out at Jose Mourinho, indicating the reason he has fared better under Antonio Conte at Chelsea is because the Italian played the game at a high level; Mourinho had no playing career of note before he went into coaching.
The Nigeria international was roped in by Chelsea, who were then managed by Roberto Di Matteo, in the summer of 2012.
Even after Di Matteo was sacked and replaced by Rafael Benitez in November 2012, Moses still considerably featured for Chelsea that season, making a total of 43 appearances in all competitions, scoring 10 times and providing five assists.
But Moses’ career at Chelsea looked over after Mourinho took charge of the club at the start of the 2013/14 season.
The current Manchester United boss shipped out the winger on a season-long deal to Liverpool; Moses was then loaned out to Stoke City and West Ham United on similar deals for the next two campaigns, despite doing well in pre-season.
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However, the 25-year-old has had a new lease of life under new Chelsea manager Conte, who was appointed as the Blues’ boss in the summer.
The former Juventus midfielder and manager decided to give Moses a chance after he impressed during the pre-season campaign.
And Moses thinks Conte’s understanding of the game from the point of view of a former player is the reason he has been handed a chance to resurrect his Chelsea career.
“It was very important”, he told Chelsea TV, when asked how important pre-season was for impressing Conte.
“If you see the pre-seasons we have done for the past four years, I’ve been really good at it.
“But I was not really given a chance to prove myself in the league.
"But the manager came and he understands the game, he has played the game before so he knows what players like and how they feel.
“I gave my all in pre-season and he respected it and gave me a chance.
"I will keep on working hard and I will keep on enjoying my football, which is the most important thing.”
Moses, whose team will next face Mourinho’s Manchester United on Sunday, has clocked up 433 minutes over nine appearances in all competitions this season, scoring three times.
