Conte and Mourinho put past arguments aside ahead of clash

Antonio Conte insisted he is keen to move on from his bitter war of words with Jose Mourinho. Chelsea manager Conte and Manchester United manager Mourinho, who have clashed numerous times during the past two years, go head to head at Old Trafford in the Premier League tonight and Conte said it is time to draw a line under any unsavoury episodes in the past as both sides seek to try and secure their places in the top four.

“I’m not interested in this topic. Both said something in the past, but we stop,” Conte said. “For me, the situation has stopped.”

January was dominated by a tit-for-tat public argument between the two when Mourinho commented that he did not need to behave like “a clown” touched a nerve with Conte, known to be animated on the touchline, and lead the Italian to accuse the United manager of being senile.

It descended from there as Mourinho referred to a four-month suspension Conte served in relation to match-fixing, for which the Italian was later cleared of any wrongdoing.

Conte then called the Portguese “a little man” and Mourinho retaliated by saying he treats Conte with “contempt”.

Mourinho, whose second spell as Chelsea manager ended in December 2015, was also uninterested in the ongoing row, although he did not call for an end to it. “I told you before I’m not going to speak about it. Not at all,” the Portuguese said.

“That’s not the point. Very good manager, fantastic team and that’s what is important for me. Just that.”

While attention has been almost fully focused on the relationship between the two managers, tonight could have a significant bearing on the race for Uefa Champions League qualification.

Champions Chelsea and United have both failed to challenge runaway leaders Manchester City for the title this season, leaving them fighting for a top-four finish alongside Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal.

“This is a massive game. A game to try and find a place in the Champions League,” said Conte, his fourth-placed team sitting just three points behind second-placed United. “An important game for us and an important game for them.

“We have to try and play and try and get three points. To try and finish the game with a good result.”

Today’s other league game sees fifthplaced Tottenham Hotspur take on Crystal Palace.

Tottenham are unbeaten in their past nine league games and are one point outside the top-four placings.