Villa boss Paul Lambert dismisses Jose Mourinho's moaning

Lambert's team banished the survival alarm at Villa Park and jolted the Londoners' Premier League title charge with a 1-0 win that had a 40,000 crowd eating out of the palm of their hands.

It was a win which added Chelsea to the conquests of Manchester City and Arsenal in an uneven season not without its problem patches for the Villa boss.

And it ended in dramatic circumstances as both the Villa boss and his opposite number ended up on the pitch, along with a host of substitutes and staff, when tempers boiled over after Chelsea midfielder Ramires was sent-off for a stamp on Karim El Ahmadi.

Mourinho was sent to the stands by referee Chris Foy, who had earlier dismissed Willian for two bookable offences, and later criticised the official. But Lambert insisted the incident was nothing to get worked up about.

"A lot of it's banter and a lot of fun. As long as it never overspills it's alright," he said. "I know what Jose's doing – he's been around the block. If you go on about decisions it deflects from the performance."

Lambert also saluted the "massive potential" of Fabian Delph after the 24-year-old produced one of his finest games for Villa and struck the 82nd-minute winner which had Lambert hailing the player's continuing rise.

"When you go on a football pitch it's a 'me against you' type of thing," said Lambert.

"I don't think you can worry about who you are going to play against or what you are going to come up against, you have to have a belief in your own ability, your own way of playing the game and I thought Fabian and the team showed that in abundance.

"He's been excellent over the course of the 18 months I've been here.

"What sort of player can he develop into? You've seen what he's got, there's massive potential there to be a really top player."