Jose admits Gerrard respect

JOSE MOURINHO has expressed his admiration for England midfield duo Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard as he formulates his plans to get Real Madrid back to winning ways.

The Portuguese, who is set to be named as Madrid coach in the coming days after Manuel Pellegrini was sacked from the post on Wednesday night, also outlined his preference for full-backs in the mould of Ashley Cole and Maicon.

While Mourinho is also yet to officially leave Inter Milan, he has already spoken freely about his plans at big-spending Madrid.