Mourinho hit out in January when Hammers boss Sam Allardyce brought his struggling side to Stamford Brigde on the back of one win in 10 Premier League matches and eked out a goalless draw.
But he now says he regrets his comments, and ahead of the the Boxing Day clash between the sides he has hailed Allardyce for getting his men into contention for Champions League football.
“Last season I had a couple of words about the… not about the way they played but about the way they started wasting time after two minutes of the game, which I don’t like," he told reporters.
"But I respect Sam Allardyce as a coach, and as a person he is a very good guy. As a coach he has a beautiful career and I’m happy that he’s doing well with West Ham.”
When asked directly about the "19th-century" comment, he replied: “Yeah, stupid, silly words.”
Mourinho also believes there is every chance the Hammers can retain their place in the top four until the end of the season.
“If they finish top four, then manager of the season is Big Sam, the team of the season West Ham, because it would be an amazing achievement comparing West Ham with the investment that other teams did to finish in the top four," he added.
“But why not? Sam deserves respect. He has my respect. Both teams are different from last season. We are a better team, we have more creativity, we have more goals, we have more attacking dynamism. And West Ham is also a better team. They are not a team in this moment to just try not to concede. They also try to score goals, so the game will be very difficult.
“You see the way they play every game: they are a better team, they have better players and, also, Big Sam is showing now he is not what people sometimes say: a defensive coach who only knows how to play defensively, direct and long balls. He’s giving a completely different image about himself, which can make the game more difficult for us obviously but, at the same time, more attractive for everyone.”
Source: Goal.com
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