Jose Mourinho has come out praise of fourth officials – saying they have helped him become better behaved on the sidelines.
The touchline assistants, who face a thankless task as they bear the brunt of irate managers, are often castigated as ineffective and superfluous.
Yet the Chelsea boss thinks they are doing a great job.
“Especially this season, I'm having good experiences with the fourth official,” Mourinho said.
“Normally they're there in a light way, to speak and have a dialogue, telling you to calm down, you don't need to do that, don't make it difficult for the ref.
“The communication is also much easier. The conditions for good stability in the dug-outs, we have in this country is more than in others.”
Mourinho continued: “Before the referee comes to send you to the stands or show publicly that he's telling you to calm down, the fourth official is there, going form one bench to the other: 'Jose calm down, you calm down, don't say that, don;'t put your arms in the air, don't create a difficult atmosphere for the ref.'
“They're not going there like a policeman. Generally, the fourth officials – and most of them are top referees who have that job for a specific moment – know very well how to calm situations.
“I found myself two metres on the pitch in a home match the other day. Is that a reason to be sent to the stands? Yes. But he came to me and asked: 'What are you doing, man? Where are you going?' So I came back. The fourth officials are doing a very good job for the managers and the officials.”
Mourinho added: “I remember, in Uefa meetings a few years ago, we spoke about how the profile of the fourth official must be a profile to help the ref and the dug-outs. Not the police or someone to complicate the life of the managers, but somebody to support.
“In my case, they are supporting. They're not complicating our lives.”
