Paul Ince, the Blackburn Rovers manager, had an angry exchange with Ray Wilkins yesterday, accusing the Chelsea assistant first-team coach of talking “garbage” about the physical approach of his players.

Wilkins had inadvertently stoked up Chelsea’s visit to Ewood Park, where the West London club won 2-0 to return to the top of the Barclays Premier League table, by claiming that Ince had built a team in his combative image and that Blackburn would attempt to put Chelsea on their backsides. Wilkins’s assessment infuriated Ince, however, who watched an interview with the Chelsea coach on television before the game and then confronted him about it on the touchline after the final whistle.

“I told Ray in no uncertain terms that the next time he wanted to say things he should get his facts right,” Ince said. “I was a physical player, but you don’t play for the teams I played for [including West Ham United, Manchester United, Inter Milan and Liverpool] if you are just a physical player. To hear this garbage about me, about us trying to put them on their arses and that we’re over- physical — you watched the game, we played some great football.”

Wilkins has been handling press interviews for Luiz Felipe Scolari, the Chelsea manager, since the midweek defeat in Rome and has a reputation for being a mild-mannered character. It is an irony that after Scolari has steered clear of controversy all season, his inoffensive assistant should become embroiled in a row in his first week in front of the cameras.

“We are aware that the game is going to be one of aggression because that is what Blackburn are about, with Paul as their manager,” Wilkins had said. “It will be up to us to battle from the first whistle.”

Chelsea certainly did that and later, rather than carry on the argument, Wilkins chose instead to praise the players who had restored Chelsea to the league summit. The game was played in a torrential downpour during the first half and Chris Foy, the referee, was considering abandoning it had the bad weather continued. Wilkins said: “I think a lot of people would have looked at the conditions and thought we might slip up today.”

Didier Drogba and Joe Cole, who missed yesterday’s game through injury, may return to the Chelsea line-up in the Carling Cup against Burnley on Wednesday.