Tottenham's Jan Vertonghen vows to put Torres altercation behind him and let football do the talking against Chelsea

 
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Sam Johnston8 March 2014

Jan Vertonghen has promised his football will do the talking when Tottenham face Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea side on Saturday, after the Portuguese labelled him “a disgrace” earlier in the season.

Mourinho’s verbal assault on Vertonghen followed a heated 1-1 draw between the London rivals in September, in which Fernando Torres was sent off after an altercation with the Belgian.

The Chelsea boss pulled no punches in the aftermath, but the defender is refusing to enter a war of words with Mourinho ahead of Saturday’s clash and has vowed to let his performance speak for him.

“I did not respond to Mourinho at the time – and I won’t do it now,” the Belgian told The Sun.

“I don’t want to add fuel to the fire in the run-up to the match. I don’t want to go into a war of words with Mourinho. I just want to prove myself on the field.”

Mourinho was adamant that Vertonghen had play-acted to get Torres sent off after the Spaniard had appeared to scratch the Spurs defender.

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“It’s a disgrace that you can do what he did to someone else in the same job,” Mourinho fumed in his post-match interview.

But Vertonghen has issued a warning to the table-topping Blues, claiming Tottenham will be going to Stamford Bridge in search of a victory and nothing less as they fight for fourth place in the Premier League.

“We’re going to Stamford Bridge for the three points,” said Vertonghen.

“If we want to reach the Champions League we have to win this game.”

The Belgian insists he is ready to play a crucial role in Tottenham’s run in, having missed much of the action since Christmas due to an ankle injury.

He added: “We have a tough month of March but I’m excited to play in the most important part of the season.

“It is true that the games follow each other fast – but I’ve been out with injuries in both December and January.”

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