Jose Mourinho will go into tonight's Champions League clash with Galatasaray in Istanbul with a few bemused and no doubt angry players in his Chelsea squad after he was caught on film complaining of a lack of strikers and questioning the age of Cameroon forward Samuel Eto'o.

The Stamford Bridge manager, who usually thrives on the glare of publicity, said the media "should all be embarrassed" for reporting the quotes filmed by French television station Canal Plus, when he was in conversation with a Swiss businessman at a recent sponsor's event.

He bemoaned the "disgraceful" ethics of a journalist recording and making public his private, light-hearted comments about Chelsea's striking options.

The film quotes Mourinho saying: "The problem with Chelsea is I lack a striker. I have Eto'o but he is 32 years old, maybe 35, who knows?"

Mourinho said yesterday at the press conference before tonight's game: "I'm not defending what I'm saying. I'm attacking something that is, I think, fundamental in your professional area and that person showed exactly what he is or what he does not know about the job.

"From my perspective, the comment is not obviously a good one, not one I would do in a serious way, not something I would do in an official way in an interview.

"First of all, because I don't make fun. Secondly, because if there are managers in the world that really defend their players, I am obviously one of them. And third, because Samuel Eto'o is Samuel Eto'o."

Canal Plus captured the footage as they were waiting to conduct a one-on-one interview with the Portuguese, who was also filmed addressing the possibility of signing reported long-time target Radamel Falcao from Monaco.

"I need a striker, Falcao needs a club," Mourinho is reported to have said. "A player like him cannot play in front of 3,000 people. Monaco is a club to end [your career with]."

Mourinho may have been joking about his strike force but the goals have not been flowing for his front men. Fernando Torres has only scored eight goals in 26 games, Eto'o has eight from 27, while Demba Ba has found the net just three times in 18 appearances.

David Luiz and John Obi Mikel have travelled for the last-16 first-leg tie having missed Saturday's match with Everton through injury, as has Oscar despite being substituted at half-time with an ankle complaint.