Jose Mourinho is set to renew his relationship with former colleague Ronald Koeman when Chelsea travel to face Southampton on Sunday.
The pair worked together at Barcelona when Louis van Gaal was in charge at the Camp Nou and they will renew their relationship at St Mary's.
'I was there before him,' said Mourinho. 'Obviously he was a very big player for Barcelona, but he left. I arrived there in 1996 and I think Ron came back in 1999, so I was already a member of the technical staff.
'We helped each other, but we were there to help Mr van Gaal because he was the boss then. I think we did our work quite well.
'I know that he is a good coach, and I know the football principles that he defends and he likes. When I saw him get his hands on [Mauricio] Pochettino's team, I thought he was the right guy to do it.
Southampton have so far surpassed pre-season expectations, and currently sit fourth in the Premier League, and Mourinho believes the Saints are in an excellent position to have a go at the Barclays Premier League leaders.
'Obviously they lost some good players, but they were very clinical in their choices,' he added. They don't have any pressure because they are very, very far away from relegation and the title is not for them. They are in a fantastic situation to play beautiful football.'
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