Mourinho says he needs to adapt to the modern game after Man Utd sacking and throws name into hat for Portugal job
JOSE MOURINHO admits he needs to adapt to the modern game before returning to management.
Manchester United sacked the Portuguese boss in December with the club sixth in the Premier League and 19 points behind then-leaders Liverpool despite splurging £400MILLION on 11 players.
Mourinho, 56, says he has spent the last six months reinventing himself rather than sulking over his axing.
He told Eleven Sports: “I didn’t need to recover from anything.
“What happened was nothing I didn’t expect.
“I didn’t need time to recover. I’ve been using the time to work on my future, to improve my technical staff, to find a new dimension to my work, without obviously losing what I am.
“It was me who, being as I am and thinking as I think, got to where I am. But my work has been at that level. I want to be better, I want to readapt, I want to reformulate myself and that’s what I’ve been doing.”
Mourinho won the Europa League and Carabao Cup with United in 2017 but has not won a league title since 2012 with Real Madrid, and his last Champions League triumph was with Inter Milan in 2010.
He has been linked with a host of top European jobs during his lay-off but revealed his plan is to take his first step into international management.
PORT OF CALL
When asked if he would return to the dugout in Portugal with a club or the national team, Mourinho said: “I think it’s more of the national team than a club. But you can never say never.
“But I see more of a national team than a club project. Because it’s something I’ve always lacked. It’s something I’d like to do.
“Not only Portugal, but also the work of [any] national team. It’s something I’ve never wanted until now and I’m still not at this moment in my career, in love with that kind of work. But it’s a job I’ll want to try one day.
“A lot of people say it’s easier to be a national team coach than a club coach.
“There are others who say it’s easier to be a club coach than a national coach because a national coach only sees players once a month for three days before the game.
“I’ve always refused that. They’re jobs that have virtually no point of comparison. The only point of comparison is to win.
“I’m going to want to try that side of our profession one day. I’m going to want to do a European or World Cup, which I’ve never done before.
“I’m very curious about this role as a national team coach.
“By the way, we’re going to win the League of Nations.”