I'm flattered with the comparison with Brian Clough says Mourinho

Mourinho - " I'm flattered with the comparison with Brian Clough"

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has paid tribute to the late Brian Clough and insists there is no comparison between him and the legendary former Nottingham Forest manager.

Crystal Palace manager Neil Warnock compared Mourinho to Brian Clough, and the Blues boss was happy to receive the compliment.”I obviously feel very flattered with his comments but I don’t think there is a comparison.Mr Clough is a legend in English football; what he did, especially at Nottingham Forest, will be remembered forever.It was a big loss for English football when he went so early but I’m nobody compared with him. If Neil said that, it makes me very proud, but the legacy of Mr Clough has no comparison.”

“Neil’s a great motivator; I was behind his dugout when he played the play-off final against Watford (in 2013), and I saw the way he feels the game, communicates, interacts with players. If he does that during 90 minutes and in training he brings the best out of his players. Every football manager knows about the game, methodology and tactics, but they are not all strong in other areas. This area is a fundamental one and because of that he’s a good, difficult opponent.”

Mourinho had words of praise for Southampton manager Ronald Koeman who was named Barclay's Manager of the Month for September. “First of all I think Ronald deserves it, he’s a great guy and a good friend, we worked together for a while. I’m so happy he arrived in England and things are going well for him. The second reason I’m happy is because the manager of the month always loses the next match. Garry Monk lost against us, so I don’t want the award.” he said jokingly.

Mourinho then laughed off criticism he received from Roy Keane and Paul Lambert about his practice of shaking hands before the final whistle. “First of all I want to say I appreciate the comments,” Mourinho told reporters. “I think they are both great examples of polite and well educated people, and because I’m a humble guy who tries to learn every day and with every experience, I appreciate the comments.”

Finally Jose Mourinho paid tribute to former Chelsea defender William Gallas who announced his retirement from football couple of days ago. “He’s the kind of player that when you have him in your squad, instead of having 22 players you have 24 or 25, because he plays left-back, right-back and in central defense on the right or the left. I don’t remember any mistakes by William, I just remember so many untouchable performances. I was so sorry to lose him at the time because he was such a fantastic player. He should be very proud of his career and I wish the very best for the rest of his life.”