Baba Rahman: Chelsea will excel without Mourinho on the bench

Ghanaian defender Baba Rahman says Chelsea can cope without coach Jose Mourinho on the bench on Saturday when they travel to Stoke City for their English Premier League match.

The Chelsea boss is banned from attending Saturday’s clash with Stoke after courting the attention of the English FA following the Blues clash against Southampton.

Mourinho appealed against a charge brought against him in the wake of his meltdown after defeat to Southampton.

The Portuguese manager launched a seven-minute rant after the 3-1 loss and was handed a £50,000 fine and a suspended one-match stadium ban.

The FA dismissed his appeal which means he won’t be on the bench on Saturday.

The Ghana international insist the squad is right behind under-fire manager Mourinho and will cope comfortably in the coach’s absence on the bench.

“I don’t think it has much effect on the players because the manager tells us what to do and everyone believes in the manager and we are doing what he tells us,” he added.

The left-back made his second Champions League appearances Wednesday night in the 2-1 win over Dynamo Kiev.

But the 21-year-old has played just 93 minutes of domestic football since joining Chelsea in the summer from Augsburg.

Chelsea’s Premier League decline, and the form of the defence, has left many expecting him to get more of a chance in Jose Mourinho’s side.

The Portuguese is under pressure following a number of high-profile spats – with Eva Carneiro and the FA – and with the team in poor form.

He has been banned from the stadium as Chelsea take on Stoke on Saturday in what has been dubbed as a must win.