Jose Mourinho
Chelsea are ?not desperate? to win the Premier League this season, according to manager Jose Mourinho.
A run of four league wins in a row has put the Blues third in the table, two points off leaders Arsenal, ahead of the visit of Manchester United.
?We are not desperate to win the title, we want to build a team for the future,? said Mourinho, 50.
Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie will miss Sunday?s fixture due to injury, according to United boss David Moyes.
Mourinho had stated he hoped the two forwards would recover in order to fully test his side.
But Rooney has only recently started running again after a groin problem, while Van Persie remains out after sustaining a thigh injury in December.
Chelsea go into the match nine points ahead of seventh-placed United, having kept clean sheets in three consecutive matches for the first time since January 2012.
They have not been beaten since a 3-2 defeat at Stoke on 7 December ? but even though his side are contenders for the title, Mourinho is focused on the future.
?We are making a transition between the Chelsea of the last decade and Chelsea of the next decade,? added Mourinho, a two-time Premier League winner during his previous spell as Chelsea boss.
?We want stability and not to lose our winning DNA, so we are doing both things at the same time, but we will try to fight for the title until the end.
?I think Arsenal have done the same profile of work as we are doing now for the last eight years ? they have built a team.?
United finished 14 points clear of Chelsea as they secured their 20th league title in May, but Moyes has already suffered six league defeats as manager.
He had to fend off Chelsea?s attempts to sign Rooney in the summer transfer window, but holds no grudge against Mourinho over his interest in the England striker.
?We were never going to sell Wayne Rooney, so my relationship with Jose has been fine,? said Moyes, 50.
?He is one of the best modern-day managers and might go on to be one of the greatest.?
