Antonio Conte has dismissed Jose Mourinho’s "stupid" attempts to goad him into losing the plot.
The Chelsea boss, rattled in the wake of Wednesday night’s Champions League draw against Roma, regained his composure to reiterate his call for the Manchester United boss to focus on his own team.
Conte said: “I think these are stupid things. For me, this is a stupid subject. A stupid issue. It's fun to see your interest in this. I'm surprised about this, honestly.”
Conte reacted angrily to Mourinho’s jibe on Wednesday night suggesting rival bosses “cry” about injuries while he does not.
Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s game against Watford, however, Conte insisted he had no regrets.
“Regret?” he said. “Why? I think every coach, every manager has to talk about his job, about himself, about his team, about his players. Not the other (team's players).
“My answer is always the same. Every coach must be focused on his own work. That's the best way.”
The 48-year-old went also rejected claims he is working his players too hard, claiming he is working less with his players than during his title-winning campaign last season because of the Champions League.
He went on: “I have my methods. They're the same as last season when we won the league.
“Honestly, I think we are working maybe 70 percent less this season. Maybe for this reason we are having trouble. On tactical and physical aspects, less.
“We are playing every three days. When you play every three days it's impossible to work above all on the physical aspects.
"On the tactical aspects you have to work less and pay less attention on every detail. We are doing this.”
Wednesday’s 3-3 draw against Roma - during which Chelsea blew a 2-0 lead - means they are without a win in their last three games since beating Atletico Madrid in Spain.
Conte insisted he was still happy with his players but unhappy with results. He also conceded he is likely to come under increased scrutiny unless he is able to arrest the slide.
He said: “After two defeats and a draw, I'm happy. I'm happy with the commitment of my players. But if you ask me about the last few results, I'm not happy. After two defeats and one draw, no coach can be happy.
“If I stay under pressure? If I feel the pressure? I think every coach, every manager, has to feel the pressure. But I repeat: I try to give all of myself, to put all myself into my job.
“For this reason, I'm happy when I go to my house. I'm happy because I know that, in every moment, I put all myself into my job for this club, the fans, the players. You know very well that anything can happen in football.”
Conte could have just one senior midfielder - Cesc Fabregas - available for tomorrow with Tiemoue Bakayoko suffering from a groin injury and Danny Drinkwater still not yet back in full training.
N’Golo Kante is still out with the hamstring injury he picked up on international duty for France. But Conte is optimistic that the French midfielder could return before Chelsea play Manchester United on November 5.
He said: “I hope to have him back very soon, before the international break. He's progressing well. The scan was better than before. N'Golo has started to work, not with the group but to find a good fitness.
“He could be an option, but honestly... if Kante is available before [for?] Manchester United and the game against Roma, I'll be very happy.”