Me shut up? But Fergie's been talking for 20 years

LONDON - TOLD he should 'button his lip' by Alex Ferguson, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho quickly retorted that that is the last thing he will do.

In fact, the Chelsea manager was quick to point out that his Manchester United counterpart was a pot calling the kettle black.

Mourinho had said last week that United were lucky to be at the top of the Premiership table. They currently hold a nine-point lead over Chelsea.

The Portuguese also said that United were enjoying the benefits of several referees' decisions.

Ferguson then asked Mourinho to keep his opinions to himself.

Mourinho then replied: 'I don't understand this 'button your lip'.

'Why should I shut up?

'I'm not allowed to talk about referees? But he was allowed to do it for the last 20 years of his career.

'What's the difference between me and him? What would he say if Chelsea win a match with a penalty like they did at Middlesbrough and Tottenham, or the penalty they got in the first minute against Portsmouth last November?'

United were awarded controversial penalties against Middlesbrough and Tottenham for fouls on Cristiano Ronaldo.

They went on to win both matches.

Mourinho told The Guardian: 'I want to separate things.

'One thing is 100 per cent respect for Ferguson, for the players, for the club, for the team they have, and for the wonderful season they are having. That's one part of the story.

'But the other part of the story is that, in the right moment, in the right time, they have had a penalty, or a goal, or a sending-off, or whatever. Something happened for them.'

The two managers have always claimed to like each other. But Ferguson's regard for Mourinho has disintegrated this season amid what the Scot perceives to be provocative behaviour.

Mourinho's comments are unlikely to soothe relations.

He said: 'Chelsea are the champions. We have to do everything we can to win the title or, at least, fight until the last moment.

'We don't want to hand it to them on a plate. We are not the type of team who give up.

'And I think that one of the things that gives us hope is that United are winning with luck.

'At this moment, they're not winning 3-0 or 4-0 easily.

'They are at that stage where they win in the last minute. They win with a goal coming from we don't know where. So they are giving us some hope that one day they can drop points.

'But we cannot think about them. We cannot play with our minds on their results. We just have to play and win, and see what happens.

'We know we are nine points behind, and we can go to six if we win the match we have in hand.

'And when we are six behind, there will be seven matches to go, and one of them is Chelsea v United. So the race is still on. But we cannot lose points. The pressure is on us, not on them.'

Mourinho hailed the performance of goalkeeper Petr Cech, who kept a clean sheet against Portsmouth on Saturday.

Chelsea's 2-0 victory at Portsmouth was a triumph for hard work rather than wonderful football.

Mourinho insisted that Cech was worth '10 or 15 points a season', and the goalkeeper's recent absence after a head injury has indeed proved crucial.

The Blues dropped 13 points in the 14 games the Czech missed.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, ASSOCIATED PRESS