Jose Mourinho insisted he wants to remain Chelsea coach and said he hoped John Terry and Frank Lampard also stay at the club.
"I want to stay at Chelsea, I want to stay," Mourinho said on Friday, amid ongoing media speculation about a strained relationship with billionaire owner Roman Abramovich.
But Mourinho has a bigger problem right now: Can he convince England internationals Terry and Lampard to also stay?
"They are special players and special personalities," Mourinho said. "I would love to see them both be part of Chelsea history until the end."
Juventus is one of several clubs reportedly after midfielder Lampard, while central defender Terry is said to want better pay.
"My opinion is they belong to Chelsea, they belong to Chelsea history," Mourinho said. "Chelsea's success and history is with them. So when people have such strong links and feelings and success together, there is no reason for a change."
Chelsea won the last two Premier League titles and also two league cups in the past three years. But its main target remains success in the Champions League, with Chelsea hosting Valencia in the first leg of the quarter-finals on April 4.
Mourinho, who has a contract at Stamford Bridge until 2010, refused on Friday to directly address the reported rift with Abramovich.
Mourinho also denied he had problems with Chelsea academy director Frank Arnesen.
"I have no personal problems with him. He is not a `yes' man, so he does not say yes every time I want him to say yes. But the relationship is positive," Mourinho said.
He also expressed frustration at the club's inability to buy players during the last transfer window.
"December and January was a big problem for me because we had too many injuries and I was desperately needing at least one defensive player to give my team the balance it needed at the time," Mourinho said.
Lampard's agent Steve Kutner was photographed meeting officials from the Turin-based club outside a London restaurant on Wednesday, according to Friday's edition of Italian sports daily Gazzetta dello Sport.
"It would be nice," Juventus sporting director Alessio Secco was quoted as saying of a possible deal. "But the problem, more than [Lampard's] price tag, is his wage."
Those wage demands would be around US$7.94 million a year after tax according to Gazzetta. Lampard has the option to buy out the remaining two years of his Chelsea contract at the end of this season.
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