United get their champions salute - but Jose's in trouble again

And after it all began with a show of respect, it ended with Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho admitting to an ugly clash with referee Graham Poll.

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Guard of honour: Chelsea applaud United on to the pitch at Stamford Bridge

At the end of a nine-month gladiatorial battle for the Premiership title, this was the moment when Chelsea's guard of honour paid tribute to Manchester United for ending their two year reign as champions.

Inevitably, however, Mourinho grabbed the headlines following the goalless draw by claiming he had "cleaned his soul" after a foul-mouthed rant at Poll.

The controversial Chelsea chief, still brooding following John Terry's dismissal by Poll during their defeat at Tottenham last November, mistakenly believed he had been sent off after a touchline row with the referee.

Mourinho, whose side had equalled Liverpool's top-flight record with 62 successive unbeaten home games, said: "I thought he had sent me to the stand.

"With Mr Poll and Chelsea matches, there are so many incidents, I cannot tell you why I was angry. It was a normal performance from him. It was nothing special.

"I cleaned my soul by telling him a couple of things I have in my heart since the Tottenham game at White Hart Lane."

After that match, Terry was suspended for one game but later fined and warned about his future conduct after claiming Poll gave him different reasons for being sent off.

Mourinho added: "Do we jump with happiness when Mr Poll comes? No, I don't. He is a referee Chelsea has no luck with.

"If we can have another referee for the FA Cup Final we are lucky."

The Chelsea chief will get his wish when Steve Bennett referees at Wembley on May 19, but Mourinho is running out of players.

Although Michael Ballack expects to be fit, Mourinho has ruled him out of the final after he travelled to Munich for an unauthorised operation on his ankle.

He said: "Drogba will be fit, Ricardo Carvalho has a one per cent chance, but Ballack has zero per cent chance. My relationship with injured players is zero."

Mourinho also criticised the timing of the United clash by claiming that the Premier League's decision to originally schedule the fixture on the day of the FA Cup semi-finals was mischievous.

He added: "They knew it was likely that one of us would be in the semi-final."

Mourinho's shadow squad held the upper hand against a second string United side, but John Obi Mikel was fortunate not to be sent off for a shocking first-half foul on Chris Eagles.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson said: "Mikel was lucky to stay on the pitch, it was a very bad tackle."

The United chief also promised Sheffield United and Wigan that he will field a full strength side against West Ham at Old Trafford on Sunday. "We have to respect the positions of the teams," he said.