Mourinho skeptical of Liverpool squad depth

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho feels Liverpool lack the squad depth that is normally ideal for a Premier League title challenge, but says its absence from European competition could make up for it.

The Reds have impressed in the early stages of the season and sit third, level on points with the Portuguese's Blues.

"Liverpool are probably the club with least resources because, while their team looks as strong as the others, their squad doesn't look quite so strong,' Mourinho told Chelsea's official magazine when asked about his fellow title contenders. "At the same time, they don't play in European competition, so they only play one match a week, so they are training, preparing and resting for the weekend match while the rest of us are playing in Europe."

The 50-year-old contrasted that with some of the other sides who are in contention early.

"I think [Manchester] City has the most incredible squad," he said. "I think [Manchester] United is United and history makes them contenders, too."

He also is wary of some other clubs in London.

"Tottenham is the big spender of the summer and, because of that, they have a fantastic squad with two teams of equal players," he said. "At Arsenal, the manager is building a team step-by-step – the club is stable, and buying a player like Mesut Ozil makes a difference."

Despite his reputation as a difference-maker in the dugout, Mourinho rejects the notion that some managers are tougher to face than others.

"I think it depends more on the players and the teams than the 'tricky' managers," the ex-Real Madrid coach said. "The tricky manager is only tricky because he has the players at his disposal to be tricky.

"I keep thinking that we managers don't make miracles, we just work with the qualities our players have, so I prefer to talk about difficult teams than difficult managers."