Inter Milan' Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has thanked coach Jose Mourinho for bringing out the best in him.

Ibrahimovic has praised Mourinho's work ethic and disciplinary approach to his job.

Mourinho joined Inter in the summer and has kept his side in contention to win a treble this season.

When asked about Mourinho as coach, Ibrahimovic said: "I am used to this mentality.

"I grew up at Ajax with (coach) Co Adriaanse, a similar type of person.

"Then I had Fabio Capello, who made sure you understood everything right away.

"I like a coach that sometimes treats you badly, that uses harsh words, that tells me 'you were awful.'

"It has already happened to me and it works."

According to Ibrahimovic, Mourinho has the right character to guide Inter.

"It´s not easy to train a great team like Inter," he said.

"You have 24 or 25 players, all champions and each with different characteristics.

"You cannot do this without having great personality.

"At times you need to be stimulated and other times it could be that one needs to feel fear to understand that he needs to give more."

Ibrahimovic is Inter´s top scorer this season with 14 goals notched.

Inter take on Genoa this weekend before meeting Manchester United at Old Trafford in next Wednesday´s Champions League last 16 return leg.