Mourinho hits back

JOSE MOURINHO has stoked his feud with the Italian media by issuing a terse statement yesterday ahead of Inter Milan’s Serie A clash with Bologna.

Asked whether the title race was now a three-horse race following his side’s recent poor run, Mourinho said: “I don’t want to talk about the championship. It’s not a three-horse race. It’s a fight between one team and many other things.”

The press interpreted this as a dig at the football authorities, of whom he has fallen foul on a number of occasions this season, but Mourinho said in a statement on www.inter.it today: “Who changed my words, ’many other things’? Not me.

“Don’t I even have the right to talk to the Inter fans without someone poking their nose in at all costs?”

He then continued with a message to his club’s supporters, saying: “Tomorrow it’s just us: tired, injured, suspended. Us, who, together with you, have to win a very difficult match against Bologna. Sincere thanks to all the fans for the support and the great passion that they transmit to us, and that we all feel.”