Morais will be merrier if he can give family the blues

Bradford City's Filipe Morais is booked after scoring for taking off his shirt during the FA Cup first-round victory at The Shay over FC Halifax (Picture: Anna Gowthorpe/PA Wire).

The ex-Blues winger makes a sentimental return to Stamford Bridge as he attempts to make up for lost time after failing to make an appearance in his time there in the mid-Noughties.

Do not let it be said that the Portuguese did not make a mark at the club though, after famously turning down a contract extension from his compatriot Jose Mourinho in his first trophy-laden spell up west.

Morais now gets his belated chance to show his talents in a competitive game at the Bridge and is aiming to be a party-pooper.

Morais said: “All my family grew up as Chelsea fans and a few of my mates are season-ticket holders. They will be at the game – in the Chelsea end obviously.

“Everyone I know seems to be going and it’s a good one for them to get excited for they think Chelsea are going to win 4-0 or 5-0.

“Fortunately football has its twists and turns and that is the glory of the FA Cup. Chelsea are just 11 men – they are human beings like me, not super heroes.”

On whether Mourinho will remember him tomorrow, Morais, who revealed the closest he came to playing for Chelsea under the ‘Special One’ was when he was an unused substitute in the club’s 2-1 FA Cup win over Huddersfield Town in January 2006, added: “I think he will. He will remember that crazy little kid.

“I remember a cup game against Huddersfield and I was on the bench. I was told that if we were 2-0 up I would come on – but Huddersfield equalised.

“I was gutted, but it was such great experience to be in that environment. To hear Mourinho talk to the first team and being part of that was fantastic.”

Mourinho’s managerial aura is something Bradford counterpart Phil Parkinson has witnessed at close quarters before, with his Colchester side having the temerity to take the lead in a fifth-round cup tie in February 2006 before the Blues’ big guns arrived to seal a 3-1 passage.

Parkinson remains an unabashed fan, commenting: “Every manager admires Jose Mourinho.

“The key thing we say to our players, even with the talent Chelsea have got, is he still demands work ethic from him.

“In the modern-day game, you can’t carry anybody if you want to be the best.”