Ferguson taunts Scolari: You will never be as good as Mourinho

Sir Alex Ferguson has taunted new Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari - by telling him he has no chance of matching Jose Mourinho.

The Manchester United boss fired the first psychological shots before the new Premier League season by writing off Chelsea's chances of success under their new manager.

"I'm not concerned about Chelsea," said Fergie. "There's no-one who can improve on Mourinho's record. He won the title two years in a row and beat us in the FA Cup Final. Scolari would have to go beyond Mourinho's performance to worry us."

Fergie also cast doubt on the ex-Brazil and Portugal coach's ability to communicate properly with his Chelsea players, questioning the 60-year-old's command of English.

And Fergie branded Chelsea an ageing team whose best days are behind them.

"I don't know how far that team has got to go," he said. "It's hard to see where there's going to be a big improvement with a team like Chelsea that's really very experienced.

"It's hard to seem them accelerating beyond what they've done up to now. When you see the ages they've got, apart from Salomon Kalou, you have the likes of Michael Ballack, who is 32.

"I'm not necessarily saying they're old, because with modern training methods you should be playing in your 30s. What I'm saying is that I don't see outstanding progress from a team in their 30s.

"Scolari has managed a lot of clubs so he's experienced, which is one thing he has in his favour.

"He's managed Brazil and won theWorld Cup with them, and been in charge of Portugal.

"But I don't think he even speaks English, does he?"

Fergie is much more wary of Liverpool and Arsenal.

He added: "I wouldn't write off Liverpool or Arsenal.

"What Arsenal achieved last season has been understated, because they got injuries at a bad time. Who's to say that it wouldn't have been closer if Arsene Wenger had kept his players fit?"

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