Chelsea assistant manager Jody Morris says he has the “ utmost respect ” for Jose Mourinho despite previously poking fun at the Tottenham boss on social media .

Morris posted a video of himself jokingly pretending to cry on Instagram in November after Mourinho said he was “ still worried” about Chelsea ’ s chances this season .

Former Chelsea boss Mourinho , now in charge at Tottenham but then working as a pundit for Sky Sports , had revealed his fears for new boss Frank Lampard’ s youthful squad , with the club having been unable to recruit in the summer due to their FIFA transfer ban .
Morris on Friday moved to defend his post as a light -hearted reaction.

“ A lot of people misread my laughing at Jose ’ s comments , ” said Morris , speaking ahead of Chelsea ’ s FA Cup third -round match against Nottingham Forest on Sunday .

“ Listen , I’ ve got nothing but the utmost respect for Jose . He ’ s an absolute legend and one of the best managers in the game .
“ I personally was just laughing at the fact that he was worried whether we would be winning that much . ”

Morris , who stepped in at short notice for Chelsea ’ s press conference, with Lampard suffering from an illness , said France forward Olivier Giroud would only leave during the January transfer window “ for the benefit of the club ” .

Giroud has already admitted he may have to seek a move for more regular football but Morris suggested Chelsea could ill afford to lose players without suitable replacements.

“ It ’ s got to be for the benefit of the club , ” said Morris . “ We can ’ t just let people walk out the door if that means we ’ re left short somewhere .

“ Yes , you have to look at the individual as well , but I ’ ve got to say Giroud ’ s been nothing but a class act and a top professional since he ’ s been here , so I don ’ t envisage any issues from him on that front . ”

Chelsea are eyeing reinforcements in the January transfer window after the club ’ s transfer ban was lifted following an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport .

Source;- Punchng.