The Chelsea boss feels the striker has “made the difference” in the Premier League title race, adding he feels the Liverpool star should still be punished for past mistakes

Jose Mourinho believes Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko should have won Player of the Year, not Luis Suarez.

The Liverpool star picked up both the Professional Footballers’ Association and Football Writers’ Association awards after notching 31 times this season – and a goal against Newcastle will break the 38-game record.

When asked whether he voted for the Uruguayan, the Chelsea manager told reporters: “He bites, not this season, the previous season.

“This is a different season so I’m not speaking about one mistake that a man can have, and you will have to be punished for the rest of your life if you make a mistake on the football pitch so that’s not the point for me.”

Dzeko has scored 16 times this season, a season-best for him since joining City and Mourinho feels the Bosnian has proved to be highly reliable in light of injuries after starting the season third in the pecking order.

He continued: “My player of the year would be always from the champion, always, so if the champion is Man City. I would say a City player and if I have to choose one, I think I would choose Dzeko.

“Why? Because he was the third striker in the beginning of the season, he was even behind his manager’s first choices and when the team needed him, in crucial moments of the season, he made the difference.

“He made the difference, Dzeko. In this moment, I think he has 16 goals. Sixteen goals for the third striker is something spectacular, and not just that, the quality of his game.”

In a thinly veiled jibe at Suarez, Mourinho underlined Dzeko’s disciplinary record, adding: “So if I would choose, and also the kind of player he is.

“He’s not just a goal scorer, he assists, he plays, he behaves, he’s fair, he doesn’t dive, doesn’t try to put opponents on the stands with accumulation of cards. I would choose Dzeko.”

The former Reds striker holds no grudges and wants to help out the Reds – who he argues “deserve” the Premier League title – with a goal at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday

Former Liverpool striker Andy Carroll hopes to do his old team a favour by scoring for West Ham against Manchester City to open up the Premier League title race on the final day.

Manuel Pellegrini’s side would guarantee the trophy if they beat the Hammers at the Etihad Stadium, leaving the Reds needing to beat Newcastle and hope that their rivals slip up.

Carroll, who was sold by Brendan Rodgers to the Hammers last summer after not fitting into the manager’s plans at Anfield, believes that his former club “deserve” to be champions and is out to crown them with a goalscoring performance on Sunday.

“I am hoping that Liverpool win the league and I will do my best to score at the Etihad,” the centre forward told reporters. “I have still got a lot of friends at the club and the lads were brilliant when I was up there.

“To be honest, I think that Steven Gerrard deserves to win the league. He has been there so long and, the football they have played, they definitely deserve it.

“They are great fans and, even when they were not winning the league or challenging up there, they were still fantastic. They stuck by the team and that is where they are now.”

Carroll himself has been reduced to only 11 starts this season due to lengthy struggles with injury and is determined to make a bigger impact at Upton Park by building back up to peak fitness.

He declared: “I still feel there is a bit more to come from me.

“It takes time to get back your full fitness and, although I feel fit, I know deep down I am not 100 per cent.”

The Reds have mounted a surprise title challenge this season but the former defender fears it could prove a false dawn if it is not followed by significant investment

Jamie Carragher has urged Liverpool’s owners to hand Brendan Rodgers the funds to turn the club into regular title challengers this summer.

The Anfield legend paid tribute to the progress being made under Rodgers as Liverpool sit two points behind Premier League leaders Manchester City heading into the final weekend of the season.

City are overwhelming favourites to be crowned champions thanks to their superior goal difference, but Carragher hopes the vast improvement in league form at Liverpool is a “springboard for future success rather than the summit of ambitions”.

“Liverpool have had an outstanding season and for long periods were the best team in the land,” wrote Carragher in his weekly Daily Mail column.

“And who knows, if Manchester City suffer an unexpected slip, they could yet be crowned champions.

“The likelihood, however, is that there will be no trophy, as was the case in 2002 and 2009 when the club last mounted a challenge for the Premier League title.

“In the two campaigns in which I came closest to the title, we needed two or three quality signings to make the next step, but the subsequent transfer windows were filled with poor signings as Gerard Houllier, Rafa Benitez and their scouts made mistakes that prevented us from pushing on.

“Liverpool don’t need a summer where they buy players to fit in around the edges.

“They need quality additions. They need three players to go straight into the team — two defenders and a midfielder — then another striker and a wide player to add depth and quality.

“We hear a lot about the transfer committee who work behind the scenes at Anfield but however the system operates, the owners need to back Rodgers financially and trust his judgment to bring in the quality that will prevent a repeat of what happened after 2002 and 2009.”