The Portuguese coach's comments were given in response to claims made by Ranieri on Sunday, who took a sly dig at the man who replaced him at Chelsea by claiming he needed to win to be assured of himself.

Mourinho, speaking to Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, said Ranieri was right.

"I'm in Italy to work, not to get involved in a war of words," he said.

"I want to do well with Inter, the best thing for us would be to forget about what other people are doing.

"Ranieri? He's right in what he says: I am very demanding of myself and I need to win to be secure about things. That's why I've won so many trophies in my career.

"He, on the other hand, has the mentality of someone who doesn't need to win and at nearly 70 years old he has won a Supercoppa and another small cup.

"He's too old to change his mindset."

Despite Mourinho's comments, it was 56-year-old Ranieri who came out on top when the two coaches met in the TIM Cup recently, with Juve running out 1-0 winners over Inter.