José Mourinho Digs Out Frank Lampard After Tetchy Touchline Exchange

Tottenham head coach José Mourinho has taken a less than subtle dig at Frank Lampard, hinting the Chelsea boss must control his emotions better on the touchline.

The pair clashed during Spurs' Carabao Cup penalty shootout win over the Blues, exchanging words during the first half despite previously enjoying a harmonious and fruitful working relationship when Lampard played under Mourinho at Chelsea.

After watching his side emerge victorious after Mason Mount's missed spot kick, Mourinho couldn't resist taking a dig at Lampard's antics on the touchline, offering some pearls of wisdom to the press post-match around self control.

“With Frank the most important thing is my feelings to him are more important than any words that we exchange,” Mourinho said, in quotes carred by the Guardian. “The only thing I was telling him was just an opinion from an old coach to a young talented coach which was when the players need us is when they are losing. When they are winning we don’t need to be the protagonists of the touchline.

“We need to be there when they are losing and the last match when they were losing 3-0 I felt sorry for him because he was really sad and quiet in his chair. In terms of football I have nothing to teach him. It is just an opinion. Stay on the touchline when your team is losing and stay calm when your team is winning.”

Lampard was quick to play down any animosity between the pair, suggesting that the pair had briefly fallen out because he'd pointed out that Mourinho was often in the ear of fourth official, Andre Marriner.

“We were having some fun on the line,” Lampard said. “I get on well with José. I commented on the fact he seemed to speak to the referee more than he was speaking to his players. I’ve got a huge amount of respect for José. I think he probably was feeling the sense of the first half but all was very well at the end.”

Ultimately, it was Mourinho who had the last laugh over his former employers, though the additional fixture that will now be added to Spurs' already hectic fixture schedule is unlikely to impress the Portuguese wordsmith.