Jose Mourinho today insisted his former Chelsea players want to join him at Inter Milan.

The Portuguese was unveiled as the new boss of the Italian champions with speculation rife he will make a move for Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and Ricardo Carvalho.

He said: "I think it's normal that, as a consequence of the relationship I have with the Chelsea players, that almost all of them want to work with me in the future and it's the same for me."

Any bids would depend on "if Chelsea want to sell," said Mourinho, who signed a three-year deal to replace Robert Mancini.

Although Mourinho began life at the San Siro insisting he is no longer the "Special One", the 45-year-old showed he had not lost all of his old self-assurance as he claimed he was still "a great manager".

And despite all the transfer talk Mourinho insisted he would sign a maximum of three players this summer.

Speaking in fluent Italian, he said: "Call me Mourinho, not the Special One. I am a great manager, but don't call me special: I have arrived at a special club.

"I have come to Inter to begin a new cycle, but I am not going to start a revolution. This is a good team, so we need only two or three additions, but I won't say who they are.

"The president Massimo Moratti has asked me to be myself. He wants me to work with passion, and to show empathy with everyone: players, fans and club officials.

"I have a philosophy that I think the Inter players will like, and I expect them to enjoy working with me, given the rapport I had with my players at Chelsea."

Mourinho has been hired by Moratti to bring the Champions League crown to Inter, something Mancini, who was sacked last month, never achieved. Moratti believes Mourinho's record in continental competition - he won the Champions League and the UEFA Cup with FC Porto - will make a difference.

Mourinho added: "Having worked in Spain, England and Portugal, I have experience of different footballing cultures, which is something you need if you want to do well in the Champions League.

"I still follow Chelsea and I wish them the best, but if we meet them in the Champions League, I will act as though I don't know anyone."

It now appears that Mourinho's former club Chelsea will have just 48 hours to try to appoint Mark Hughes as their new manager or he will almost certainly go to Manchester City.

Hughes has support among some of the Chelsea hierarchy and is favoured by the fans but owner Roman Abramovich is worried about his lack of top-club managerial experience.

Chelsea have been linked with a number of leading coaches but the majority of supporters want Hughes.

Jose Mourinho has told Chelsea that he wants to be reunited with Frank Lampard and
Didier Drogba at Inter Milan.

It’s the first time Mourinho has spoken about his plans to launch a transfer raid on Stamford Bridge and comes amid reports that Lampard’s talks over a new Chelsea deal have hit a snag over the length of any new deal.

Lampard, who turns 30 tomorrow, wants to stay at Chelsea but is demanding a four-year extension to his current contract.

The club are reportedly only prepared to offer him two years.

The England midfielder will have talks with new manager Luiz Felipe Scolari in a bid to resolve the problem but it is now clear that Mourinho is ready to offer one of his favourite players a way out of Stamford Bridge with a £10million bid.

The former Blues boss, who is also keen to sign Barcelona’s Deco — who he managed at Porto and is also a target for Chelsea — said: “I am not nostalgic but I really like those three players, they helped me win some great titles.

“I cannot forget Deco, Lampard and Drogba.

"These are players who I could never say no to. I would love to work with them again in future, but I am not too obsessed with this idea.

"I don’t know which of the three will leave their clubs but we’ll see.”

His declaration of intent comes three days after president Massimo Moratti revealed the midfielder was the club’s No1 target.

More surprising is the former Chelsea coach’s continued desire to sign Drogba as Moratti said yesterday that Mourinho had no strikers on his shortlist of transfer targets.

Chelsea are still in negotiations with Barcelona over the fee for Deco as they are not prepared to pay the £15m asking price.

Barcelona vice-president Marc Ingla claims they are no closer to agreeing a deal for the 30-year-old and said: “We can’t guarantee his career will continue at Chelsea because we are yet to receive an offer from this club.”

Mourinho could now be ready to beat them to his signature as Deco has made no secret of his admiration for his former manager at Porto.

“I am a Nerazzurri player now, what happened last year is in the past. I thank Roma for everything they did for me, as I spent five wonderful years there.”

The Brazilian contingent used to be in the minority at the club, but Mancini's arrival increases their power with Douglas Maicon, Maxwell, Julio Cesar and Adriano.

“It will be easier to settle in thanks to them, but I have been playing in Italy for a very long time now. If you work in a certain way, things come automatically, especially if you have help from the players that Inter can boast.”

Amantino managed 40 Serie A goals in 154 appearances and also impressed in the Champions League, most memorably with his step-over strike against Lyon.

However, uncertainty over his future, contract wrangling and the persistent rumours linking him with Inter made for a very fraught relationship with the Giallorossi supporters.

“I am only sorry that in the latter part of last season I was suffering from an injury to the top of my foot that I sustained against Real Madrid.

“I was out for three weeks and had to start all over again, but I still managed to net 13 goals. I was happy at Roma, though, and can only thank the club, fans and players.”

AL HILAL: 30 Alotaibi; 15 Angrie, 23 Airat, 17 Mufaresh, 19 Kataran, 8 Saleh Dossari, 21 Bargian; Salman, 14 Tareq, 12 Thheyab; 26 Ambar.
subs: 44 Shemary, 1 Deaeya, 11 Nawaf, 5 Ghannam, 7 Kaltam, 24 Naime, 22 Lelo, 27 Muri, 29 Sultan Saud, 4 Mufaresh, 25 Sami.

Coach: Olaroiu.

Cassano had a golden opportunity to put Samp ahead with a classic counter as a long ball over the top found him against just two defenders, but his first touch let him down!

Mourinho completed his substitutions with Hernan Crespo and Luis Jimenez replacing Figo and Muntari for a very attacking line-up. Stankovic's header from a corner was straight at Mirante, but Jimenez had to be a makeshift defender on Padalino at the other end.

There was the sense in the last 15 minutes that either team could easily score. Balotelli's free kick from 33 metres whistled wide, but on 86 minutes a screamer from Palombo nearly propelled Julio Cesar back into his net!

On the counter-attack, Jimenez's diving header from six yards turned a chipped Ibrahimovic cross over the bar. Cassano went on a mazy run and was eventually stopped after riding the third tackle and Ibrahimovic felt he was unfairly halted by the referee when running on goal in stoppages.
Sampdoria: Mirante; Campagnaro (Lucchini 78), Gastaldello, Accardi; Stankevicius (Padalino 57), Sammarco, Palombo, Franceschini, Pieri; Delvecchio (Dessena 85); Cassano

Inter: Julio Cesar; Maicon, Cambiasso, Materazzi, Maxwell; Zanetti, Stankovic, Muntari (Crespo 71); Figo (Jimenez 71), Ibrahimovic, Mancini (Balotelli 64)

Ref: Rosetti