Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed how a season preview in the Racing Post was motivation enough for him this term.
He told The Times: "Every analyst in there was tipping Chelsea for the title.
"One guy wrote: 'The reason is Scolari is in town.' He said Scolari will not be intimidated by me. He suggested that Wenger, Mourinho and Avram Grant couldn't 'handle me'. The paper mentions me as having 'had a go' at Chelsea by saying that a team [with players] over 30 can't win the league, which is absolute rubbish. I never said that. What I did say was that a team over 30 doesn't improve a lot. But Chelsea, given their performance last season, don't have to improve a lot to win it.
"Then, the same writer argues that Scolari is a better manager than me. I am not so arrogant as to believe that is impossible. Scolari may be a better manager than I am. But how can a sensible writer say that about a guy who has never managed in England? If you look at Scolari's CV, he has managed about 17 teams."