The Blues were drawn against Valencia in the last eight of the competition and face the winners of Liverpool's tie with PSV Eindhoven in the semi-finals.

That could mean Chelsea taking on Liverpool in a repeat of their Champions League clash of two seasons ago when Mourinho's side were defeated by a controversial winning goal.

But Mourinho said: "The semi-final can be many things. It could be PSV and Valencia.

"If you told me now I was in the semi-final and we play Liverpool I would sign that contract now because it means we have beaten Valencia and that is the difficult part of the job.

"To beat Liverpool in the semi-final or to beat PSV, it is the same feeling.

"In this case, we play a very good Spanish team but it is in a month and a lot of things can happen.

"Before the games, there are two international matches and this is something very difficult to deal with because instead of preparing for a very big Champions League quarter-final, I will be on my own at Cobham, praying for my players to be back safe from the national team."

England left-back Ashley Cole has plenty of experience of Valencia having played against them in two campaigns for Arsenal.

Cole warned: "It is a tough place to play, a big atmosphere. Everyone knows about David Villa from the current side, especially when England played against Spain.

"He is playing really well and is scoring a lot of goals at the top level, so they have got some great players."

Chelsea are at home in the opening leg and travel to Valencia a week later but chief-executive Peter Kenyon was delighted to have avoided Manchester United and Liverpool in the quarters.

Kenyon said: "Valencia are clearly a big side. They've been in the final twice in recent years and we know them well.

"They have a good reputation and play good open football. There are no small teams in the draw and we're delighted to have avoided another English side at the quarter-final stage.

"It's positive for the competition as well and we are looking forward to playing Valencia.

"I think the opportunity we have from this draw is that we know the route to the final and we know our squad is good enough and mature to reach the final.

"Valencia have a good team, good individual players and team spirit. Their record speaks for itself but at this stage of the competition you expect to face a good team."

Kenyon also said there was an air of predictability about facing another English team in the semi-finals.

He added: "It looks like ourselves and Liverpool are joined at the hip, it is amazing how these things work out but the positive thing is that we've managed to avoid another English team at this point.

"With three English teams in the last eight you are going to meet an English team at some point so to meet in the semis could be said to have been predictable."

Meanwhile, Mourinho claims Chelsea will do everything in their power to keep top English stars Frank Lampard and John Terry.

Both players are in the midst of contract negotiations with the club and Mourinho's view was backed by Kenyon who confirmed yet again that discussions with Lampard were ongoing.

Kenyon added: "We have had some initial discussions.

"Clearly he has two years left on his contract and we would expect him to enter into serious negotiations quickly with us and hopefully re-sign him for the future as we see Frank as a long term player."