Andre Villas-Boas has unleashed a vicious attack on Chelsea, comparing former boss Roman Abramovich unfavourably with Tottenham Hotspur chairman and new boss, Daniel Levy.
Villas-Boas suggested Spurs have a greater history and more potential than the Stamford Bridge set-up.
"Chelsea has its own tradition that has changed dramatically since it was bought in 2003, and there is a sense of belonging here at Spurs which I want to use in a different way.
"They are totally different clubs and propositions, with different ways of being,” Villas-Boas says.
"Not only that Tottenham are linked with great football in the past. It is something they have always valued highly.
“You can’t say they are the Barcelona of England, but there is a wonderful history of attractive football, and Bill Nicholson left these messages of football well played and doing things in style, which is what I want to achieve as well.”
The Portugese manager went on to say that he felt Tottenham had a greater sense of belonging, and were not looking for scapegoats, suggesting Abramovich and his board were less involved and less knowledgeable than Levy.
“There is more of a sense of belonging to a club. This is a club full of tradition, which I am still learning about and have to admire.
“I met the chairman and saw the way he goes about his business at the club.
"He knows what he’s doing, approaching the market in a different way, and is a person of great football understanding – that had the effect of giving me the assurances I wanted in terms of building something,” Villas-Boas says.
“They are not looking for certain scapegoats, and when so many people are striving forward, it makes your job easier.
"The thing is that what we were doing [at Chelsea] in terms of the project, words did not meet the actions, so I think I was cut short.”
It will certainly provide the two clubs with an electric atmosphere when they meet at White Hart Lane in October, with Villas-Boas unlikely to have many friends left in the Chelsea camp.
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