JOSE: I’M 100% TOTTENHAM
Lampard: Match isn’t about me and Jose, it’s about getting three points
JOSE MOURINHO says he will be “100 per cent Tottenham” ahead of tomorrow’s showdown with Chelsea.
The Special One was a three-time title winner in two spells at Stamford Bridge. But after replacing Mauricio Pochettino at Spurs a month ago, he made it clear where his loyalties lay.
Mourinho said: “For me, it’s a game. I am 100 per cent Tottenham, 100 per
FRANK LAMPARD has no doubt Chelsea fans will make it clear what they think about Jose Mourinho’s decision to take charge of their biggest rivals tomorrow.
But Lampard insists the former Blues boss won’t be affected if he gets both barrels from the supporters who used to adore him.
Mourinho has clashed with his old club’s fans before. Last season, the Portuguese was goaded by the Chelsea faithful when he took his Manchester United side to Stamford Bridge.
And Mourinho responded with a threefingered gesture signifying the number of Premier League titles he won during his two spells at Chelsea.
The intense rivalry between Spurs and Chelsea means the one-time Special One’s new position is even more contentious – despite his legacy of silverware in west London.
Asked if Mourinho’s new job will sit well with Blues supporters, Lampard said: “If you go to the fiercest rivals, the fans will give the answer.
“That doesn’t mean they’ve forgotten the history or don’t respect it.
“Jose is a manager who wants to work. He was out of work for a while and the opportunity came up and he took it.
“We are talking a lot about rivalries and I think only the fans can give the answer. And I don’t think Jose will be too concerned about that, either.
“If you look at the times he’s come back with Manchester United, it did look like he doesn’t care.”
Lampard flourished under Mourinho as a player (the pair, below) – but they operate on equal terms now. In fact, Lampard has already put one over Mourinho as a manager when his Derby side beat United on penalties in a League Cup tie at Old Trafford last season.
And the Blues boss said: “I would always have big respect for all my managers.
“If I was to text or ring a manager, I’d always call them boss or gaffer. Even when they are long gone.
“It was a good honour to go up against him, but I wanted to beat him.
“It would be strange to call him boss now. Now I am an ex-player, on this side of the fence, I won’t be calling him boss. But that doesn’t take away from the respect I have for him.”
Besides, Lampard insists his focus will be on the need to reverse Chelsea’s slump in form not on his relationship with Mourinho.
He said: “It’s not the me and Jose show. I want to beat him. He wants to beat me because he used to manage Chelsea, he used to manage me, and now he’s managing Tottenham.
“And he wants to win this game probably as much as he has wanted to win any game he has had at Tottenham.”
The Blues have lost four of their last five league matches and Lampard added: “Courage and bravery come in different ways. Against Bournemouth, they needed to find a pass to be brave.
“Tottenham will be different. Courage will be the atmosphere, the feeling, the physical nature of a Jose Mourinho team, and can we fight against them?”
‘It would be strange to call him boss now. Now I am an ex-player, on this side of the fence, I won’t be calling him boss. But that doesn’t take away from the respect I have for him’