Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho says he's a big fan of Newcastle United counterpart Alan Pardew.

Mourinho admits he has a good relationship with Pardew.

"I like Alan. We speak on the phone not every week but almost every week. We are good friends. I had a very good relationship with him even when I was in Italy and Spain," explained Mourinho.

"With some guys we lost contact for some reason, but not with Alan, we were in contact all the time. The relationship started because of Brendan Rodgers, because he was a good friend with Alan, and when he was at Charlton we met each other a couple of times.

"He lives the game with emotion, and his teams normally reflect what the manager is: a guy that is enthusiastic and lives for the game. Many times, especially at home, you can see Newcastle have dug results out and won in the last minute.

"His teams are always teams to fight to the end. Alan is that. He can do a big celebration if his team wins in the last minute, he's an emotional guy and I like that."