SPY IN THE LAMP

Mourinho hints at a mole at Stamford Bridge feeding him information on his opponents and he may be forced to explain what he was meaning

JOSE MOURINHO has opened up a fresh Spygate row by hinting that he knows Frank Lampard’s tactics for today’s battle at Stamford Bridge.

The Chelsea manager was furious when he was at Derby after Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa got one of his staff to spy on a behind-closed-doors training session.

Mourinho’s sources are thought to be a mole at the club he managed to three Premier League successes in two spells, although the Portuguese was keeping his cards close to his chest.

In his main conference, he had been asked about the previous game at the

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium earlier this term when Lampard had experimented with three centre backs.

Mourinho said: “Tomorrow I was told it would be the same.”

When quizzed later about who had told him and why he was so confident of his info, Mourinho said: “It is the same way you have a lot of news but you don’t tell the sources.”

Despite news breaking of the leak, Mourinho is confident his former player will stick with his plans at this stage.

But the idea that Mourinho may have been digging behind the scenes to get private information from within the Chelsea camp will do little to dampen feelings ahead of his return to Stamford Bridge.

Bielsa was fined £200,000 by the EFL for his own transgressions after admitting he had sent somebody to watch all of Leeds’ opponents train.

The EFL introduced a specific rule banning teams from watching opponents train within 72 hours of a match except by explicit invitation.

The Premier League did not follow suit but, depending on Chelsea’s reaction, Mourinho may well be asked to explain his comments.

Talking about taunts from his old supporters, Mourinho said: “Do I enjoy being the bad guy and winding people up? No, not at all.”

Ever the professional, Mourinho is adamant that, when it comes to stadiums, Stamford Bridge is no longer a Special One. He said: “This is not special. Just one more game. I will be treated the way I deserve and the way that the club respects me. Inside a football stadium, people are emotional.”