Mourinho: United Is My Home

Jose Mourinho has been reflecting on his first six months as Manchester United manager, saying he feels "right at home" at Old Trafford.

The Portuguese coach was named as Louis van Gaal's successor in May and has adapted quickly to life in Manchester, with the Reds now unbeaten in 10 games in all competitions ahead of the Boxing Day clash against Sunderland.

During his pre-match press conference, Mourinho was asked about the initial pressure of taking over at the club, saying: “For me, it was easy to acclimatise. It’s a difficult job, but it’s easy to feel at home, easy to feel good at the club, easy to feel that the club wants to progress and that the people want to be happy again. I felt good immediately, I’ve had five or six months here and have felt right at home so, for me, it was easy.

"I thought about the difficulty of the job, I thought to myself why the club in the past three years was going - in terms of results - in a different direction. I tried to answer that, but I couldn’t think much about coming to United, it was an easy decision."

Asked to compare his start at United to those in previous jobs, Mourinho stressed that he remains fully focused on the task in hand and was full of praise for the club's owners and staff.

"Honestly, I don’t like to compare," he added. "I think you know me; you don’t hear many opinions from me, many stories or comparing with previous clubs. When I leave clubs, I close the door, I close the chapter, I wish them well and say goodbye. I try to be happy. 

"What I can say is that, here, I have felt people with open arms. It’s not just a very calm and intelligent board and owners, they know what they want, they have big experience already and they’re very calm and pragmatic - I have good conditions to work. 

“Expectations are high, results are up and down and we are in a position where we don’t want to be. I have passion for my new work. I’m feeling really happy here."