Jose Mourinho has admitted that he is relieved to have seen Chelsea cross the line in the race for the Premier League title.
The Blues secured their fourth Premier League crown by overcoming Crystal Palace 1-0 at Stamford Bridge this afternoon.
It is an outcome that has looked inevitable for the past couple of months, but Mourinho insists that it is only now, with the job officially done, that he can finally breath easily once again.
"I am very happy and proud," he told BBC Sport. "I need a rest, I'm tired. It's not easy to cope with that, but finally mathematically we are champions now. Finally we can breathe, relax and enjoy.
"We can look back and see how much we deserve to be champions. I think last season we were building something. This season there was work ethic, group ethic and principles with more stability and a few players we brought here gave us some qualities we didn't have.
"I always thought when the season started, and then winning match after match, I was feeling the team would be ready. I knew the work ethic would be there and the spirit would be there. The mentality in key moments in the season was there. I thought we had everything to win the title."
Chelsea have now gone 17 games without tasting defeat, although they did crash out of the Champions League by virtue of away goals against Paris Saint-Germain in March.
Daniel Lewis
