MILAN, June 3: Jose Mourinho said on Tuesday his arrival at Serie A champions Inter Milan would not spark a bonanza of transfer market spending and that he would buy two or three players.

He did not rule out bids for some of his former players at Chelsea, however.

“When I read the world’s press, it seems like I’m going to work with a squad of 60 players. It’s not true,” the coach told a packed news conference at the club’s training complex the day after the announcement that he had signed a three-year contract.

“I like the players (that we have). They’re a beautiful team. I don’t need a dramatic change in the team. I think we need two or three players to improve and be more competitive.”

Chelsea midfielders Frank Lampard and Michael Essien, defender Ricardo Carvalho and striker Didier Drogba have been linked by media in Britain and Italy to a move to Mourinho’s Inter, along with Barcelona duo Deco and Samuel Eto’o, among others.

“I think it’s normal that, as a consequence of the relationship I have with the Chelsea players, that almost all of them want to work with me in the future and it’s the same for me,” he said when asked about the speculation, adding that he would not say who Inter’s transfer targets were.

The 45-year-old said he wanted to change the side’s approach, while praising his predecessor Roberto Mancini, who was fired last week 11 days after he led the side to their third consecutive Serie A title.

“I like this group, I like the team’s mentality very much. I have a lot of confidence in this group,” he said. “I want to start a different cycle, practically with the same squad.

“I think differently to Roberto. I imagine it would be the same situation if Roberto went to Chelsea, for example. He’d change things because he thinks differently from me.

“It’s far from a criticism, it’s just the reality of football.”

Mourinho’s did not promise victory in the Champions League, which eluded Mancini, saying Inter were one of 11 European teams who could realistically aspire to the title.

But he said his track record boded well after he won it with Porto in 2004 and reached two semi-finals with Chelsea.

“I think there’s a tendency to do well in this type of competition,” he said.

He added he was first contacted about taking over at the club the day after the defeat by Liverpool in March in the last 16 of the Champions League, when Mancini said he would quit at the end of the season only quickly to change his mind.

He added that he hoped to help Serie A regain its position as the world’s top championship, given that the Italian top flight was widely considered to have lost ground to Spain’s Primera Liga and the English Premier League in recent years.—Reuters