Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has explained that he gets on well with his Tottenham Hotspur counterpart Mauricio Pochettino.
The pair, whose teams are due to face off in the Premier League tomorrow, have known each other since their coaching stints in Spain; while Mourinho managed Real Madrid, Pochettino was in charge of Espanyol.
And the Portuguese insisted that although he is not close friends with Pochettino, he still enjoys a cordial relationship with the 43-year-old.
Mourinho, who has often been involved in dugout spats with opposing managers, with his bust-up with Arsene Wenger the most notable one, further added that the fourth official will enjoy a relative calm day at White Hart Lane, owing to his good feelings for the Argentine.
“We respect each other, we've known each other for a long time”, he told Chelsea’s official site.
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“We cannot be close friends because, to be close friends you have to have a certain kind of relationship. But we are friends. We have good feelings for each other.
“Also his technical staff and my technical staff have known each other for a long time too, so relations are very good.
“It's the kind of match where the fourth official will have a peaceful time because we are very happy to be seated almost together.
“We met a couple of times after he left Espanyol, when he was preparing himself for the next step. In that period we met a couple of times, but nothing important.”
Chelsea, who lost 5-3 on their last visit to the ground, are currently 15th in the Premier League table with 14 points from 13 games, 10 places and 10 points adrift of their London rivals Tottenham.
