Diego Costa opens up about his poor form, the bib incident, and getting hounded out of England

Diego Costa hasn't had too grand of a time in England, and not just this season, if certain circles of the media and public are to be believed.  Despite leading last year's Premier League champions in goals, there are constant rumors of him wanting to leave, either due to strife with the manager or due to things like #CostaCrimes and the the undue criticism he gets from far too many people in general, or just simple home-sickness for the better weather and less mean defenders (Gabriel excepted) of La Liga.

He probably brings some of this onto himself with his on-pitch antics and behaviour, but he is undoubtedly the target of the vast majority of the scrutiny reserved for Chelsea players, from just about day one of his arrival to this country.  Fortunately, Costa claims he doesn't listen to all that noise, even if he wanted to, for the simple reason of not speaking the language yet.

"The English media want me to leave England as soon as possible. Because it's not normal what they say. But I do not speak English yet so the truth is that I do not hear what they say. When things are going well people put you in heaven and when things goes wrong they put you in hell."

"But the truth is that I'm happy here. Every day I am more settled. The only thing which I'm not happy about is the situation of the team. But If I were happy with that it would be very ungrateful. I have to improve and the team has to improve."

-Diego Costa; Source: IBTimes UK

The whole bib incident (bib-gate?) has taken center stage lately, too, with far too much discussion and time devoted to it already.  Costa is ready to move on from the episode; although he admits he didn't display a good attitude with that act.

"No way. People have made a party about this. If I want to throw the bib at him it would have been impossible to fail because I was very close. But anyway the attitude was not good. It was disrespectful not only to him but to my teammates. But as the dressing room loves me nothing happens."

-Diego Costa; Source: IBTimes UK

Ain't no party like a bib-throwing party.

"[Had I hit Mourinho with the bib] I'd be taken out of the club. I didn't want to throw it at Mourinho at any moment because despite being my manager, my boss, we do have a great relationship. Even though the press says otherwise."

-Diego Costa; source: ESPN Brasil

Compared to last season, Diego Costa looks like a shell of his former self. Struggling for form and goals, his latest performance against Porto, coming after a supposed heart-to-heart with the manager, might have been a sign of things turning for the better.

"[José Mourinho] spoke with me but he doesn't need to explain anything. The manager has the respect of everyone. The only thing he asked of me is what I had to do but he doesn't have to explain because he is the boss."

"I know that I'm not playing well. The manager was very honest with me. We have a very good relationship and everything has gone well. I don't need someone to tell me that I'm not having a great season. I know it and it is normal that the manager tries to find different alternatives to win games. I have to work hard in the training sessions and take the opportunities to improve."

-Diego Costa; Source: IBTimes UK

"I'm frustrated about myself because I know things haven't been at the right place. This year I haven't been that good, so I know that in a club like Chelsea, in a big club like this one, there are always players ready to take your place."

"So I know that I need to improve and that's it. I think that's where my frustration comes from. I always want to do my best and things aren't coming out as I planned but Mourinho trusts me and [yesterday] I had a good game."

-Diego Costa; source: ESPN Brasil

About José Mourinho's managerial situation, Costa assures that the manager will be staying with the club until the end of the season — but did he emphasize "stay" or "this"? — and that he's not the only culprit to Chelsea's bad results.

"We know that the manager is going to stay here until end of season. Fans like him so much, the board respect him and the players know that he is very important for us."

"Despite things not going well he is not to blame. One thing is when one thing doesn't work but when four or five players are not playing it is more difficult. The manager has been fighting and encouraging us to turn this around."

-Diego Costa; Source: IBTimes UK

Wednesday's win should restore some of the missing confidence in the team, and hopefully Chelsea can kick on to other important results in the important games coming up.  While Costa was very happy with the win, he still misses not seeing his dear old friend, the back of the goal.

"It was important to score early. The team were good throughout the whole game. It was very important to win. We came from a very bad run. It was important to win to give joy to the people and also to the manager."

"[Mourinho] was having a bad time. Not just him, all were bad but as he is the boss people are always looking for someone to blame. Leicester are having a great campaign but we are Chelsea and we have to go there to win."

"I played well but I still miss the goal. I felt well and now I need to keep working and the goals will come."

-Diego Costa; Source: IBTimes UK