Andre Villas-Boas tried to deflect attention away from the anti-Semitic chants that marred Tottenham's 3-1 victory over West Ham.
Just four days after a Spurs fan was stabbed before Tottenham's game against Lazio, West Ham fans aimed a flurry of deeply offensive chants towards the home support about the attack.
Villas-Boas and his opposite number Sam Allardyce refused to comment in detail about the chants - mainly because they said they did not hear them.
"I prefer not to mar the performance with a situation like this," Villas-Boas said.
"You know the animosity there is between Tottenham and West Ham and as long as it doesn't reach stupidity it is a great, great rivalry of two London clubs.
"It would be extremely unfair for me to mar the performance of the players but understanding that a couple of situations are avoidable but we can't decipher the true meaning of what they were saying."
Villas-Boas was happier talking about the victory on the pitch, in which Jermain Defore scored a fine brace.
"I think it was a very good performance. We have been chasing a good, solid 90 minute performance for a while and we got it today very deservingly," he said.
"It was extremely important to get back to winning ways - particularly against a team who has been doing well in a London derby."
