New Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho says he's a 'better coach' ahead of clash with former club Manchester United
by RT
New Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho says he’s a ‘better coach’ ahead of clash with former club Manchester United
Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho returns to his former club Manchester United on Wednesday night in a pivotal Premier League clash, saying he arrives in Manchester as a “better coach” following his stint at Old Trafford.
Mourinho’s two-year tenure at United was an at-times turbulent one but, speaking ahead of his new side Spurs’ visit to Old Trafford, he said he harbored no ill-feeling towards his former employers.
United replaced Mourinho with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and, after some encouraging early results, the team has fallen into a similar, if not worse, situation than the one that saw Mourinho dismissed from the club.
When asked about the situation by the press during a media session at Tottenham’s training facility in London, a relaxed Mourinho wouldn’t be drawn into criticizing his old club.
“No interest in speaking about it, I did the best I could,” he said on Tuesday.
“Of course I analyzed it. I met my assistants and when we analyzed it, it was in a positive, constructive way. I forbid them to analyze and blame anyone else but us.
“I said don’t focus on the club or the players just on what we could do better and what could we do better in the future.
“You win or you learn, you don’t lose. Was good because we managed to win some nice things. But, on the opposite side, I learned and I feel that I’m a better coach now than I was then.
“The important thing is after you are sacked you don’t blame. You try to prepare for the future by analyzing what happened in the past.”
Mourinho has led Tottenham to three straight wins as they prepare for their trip to United, and the importance of the game itself has been given extra spice by the fact that it represents “The Special One’s” first match back at Old Trafford since his sacking.
And although Mourinho’s arrival in North London appears to have galvanized an underperforming Spurs side – who currently sit in sixth in the Premier League table – the Portuguese boss opted not to directly compare his situation at Tottenham with the one he experienced at United.
“I don’t want to do that,” he said.
“I’m very happy here. I’m getting to know the players as fast as I can. They have to analyze my character and personality as a coach. The faster we learn the better.”
