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Publication Date: Saturday, October 3, 2020 1:40 AM
José Mourinho is convinced he lived up to expectations while at Manchester United before his final return to Old Trafford with Tottenham on Sunday.
Mourinho spent two and a half years in the United hotseat, before being fired in December 2018. During his time at the helm, he won the Europa League and the League Cup. He also finished second in the Premier League and was defeated in the 2018 FA Cup final.
He left later that year after things turned ugly in his third season. However, United fans gave him a warm reception on his first visit to Spurs last December.
The Portuguese believes that he did only what was possible in his time there.
“I expected that, I never had problems at the club,” he said about the reaction of the fans. “The fans know that I gave everything I could.
“I won what was possible to win, I did not win what was not possible to win. I gave everything, I gave my life to the club and my professionalism, as I always do.
“Internally, a lot of friends for life, a lot of amazing people I met at the club. I only have good feelings, feelings that I will have to forget in 90 minutes. Because during the 90 minutes they want to win, I want to win, that’s football ”.
Spurs travel north driven by the arrival of Benfica striker Carlos Vinicius on Friday night. However, it is unlikely that he is involved.
The arrival of the Brazilian adds to an already swollen squad, with about 30 high-level professionals.
Mourinho hopes to cut that before the transfer window closes on Monday.
Despite his recent hectic schedule, having to play eight games in 22 days, players like Juan Foyth, Ryan Sessegnon, Paulo Gazzaniga, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Danny Rose have not been used at all. All six can hope to leave, although two defenders could also arrive.
Mourinho has previously said that he has too many players and it becomes difficult to handle. As such, he’s open to the idea of letting some go before Monday’s deadline.
“The two-way transfer window and we may be able to let a couple of players go. We may be able to let a couple of young players go and experience the game, ”he said.
“Of course, we are not going to keep all the players in the squad above the normal numbers.
“I like to work normally with a squad of 22 players plus the goalkeepers. We will not be far from that number. “
Mourinho on the balance of Tottenham’s squad
Spurs complete their busy schedule against United. Mourinho knows that many more members of his team will be disappointed if they do not participate.
“My job is not to keep them happy. My job is to do the best for the club and get the best possible results, ”said Mourinho.
“But the truth is that I agree that it is impossible to keep everyone happy when there are so many players. Every weekend, every game, some players won’t play and that’s not good for them. Especially when they are good players.
“But at the same time, we are a great club, we want to be bigger, we want to play in all competitions. We have six games in the group stage of the Europa League playing on a Thursday. We are sure that we will have a lot of games on Sunday at 12 o’clock or Sunday at 3 pm.
“It will be very, very difficult, so it is impossible to do it with the same players. Having a good squad with good numbers is what all the big clubs have ”.
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