United manager Mourinho prepared to stay for 15 years at Old Trafford, but admits it will be difficult
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has revealed he is targeting a 15-year stay at Old Trafford, telling ESPN in an interview that he wants to restore the stability of the Alex Ferguson era.
Mourinho, who took over the Premier league giants last year, told the network's website that he is desperate to deliver sustained success over a long-term period just as Ferguson did over nearly three decades.
United have not won the Premier league title since Ferguson's retirement in 2013, with the club struggling to rediscover its dominance under David Moyes and louis van Gaal.
Mourinho has never spent longer than three years as manager of a club during his trophy-laden career.
But the 54-year-old, speaking as his team prepare to face Manchester City in Houston on Thursday in the latest leg of their US tour, insisted he saw United as a long-term project.
"I am ready for this," Mourinho told ESPN on Tuesday. "I am ready for the next 15, I would say. HereIJ Yes, why notIJ
"I have to admit that it is very difficult because of the pressure around our jobs, everybody putting pressure on managers and things that people say — that we have to win, but in reality only one can win and every year it is getting more difficult.
"This club, for so many years, was Sir Alex. People got used to it; people understood the great consequences of that stability.
"After David [Moyes] and Mr [louis] Van Gaal, I come to my second year and hopefully I can stay and give that stability that the club wants. I will try, but again, I will have to try to deserve that, but that's what I try every day that I work."
Mourinho believes Ferguson's 27-year reign at United will never be emulated in the modern game.
"I think Sir Alex's career is unique," Mourinho said. "I don't think it is possible to emulate.
"Nobody is going to be in the same club for so many years, be in the same league for so many years. I think (Arsenal manager Arsene) Wenger will be the last with a similar story in terms of staying at a club for so many years. But I what I try to do in modern football nowadays is to try to deserve to stay in the club, because in this moment, it is about success. You have success, you stay in the club. You don't have success, you don't stay."
Conte signs new 2-year deal
lONDON: Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has signed a new two-year contract with the English Premier league champions.
"I am very happy to have signed a new contract with Chelsea," Conte said on the club's website on Tuesday. "We worked extremely hard in our first year to achieve something amazing, which I am very proud of. Now we must work even harder to stay at the top."
Conte signed a three-year deal on his appointment last summer after leading Italy into the European Championships. This new contract reportedly represents improved terms for the former Juventus coach, but is not an extension.
"This new contract reflects our belief that he can continue to deliver results both domestically and as we return to European competition in the Champions league," Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia said.
Chelsea started a pre-season tour to Asia, with matches against Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan.
Hart joins West Ham
lONDON: England goalkeeper Joe Hart joined West Ham on season-long loan on Tuesday after finding no way back into the Manchester City team under Pep Guardiola.
Hart was the first-choice goalkeeper as City won the Premier league in 2012 and 2014.
But one of the first decisions by Guardiola after taking charge a year ago was to send Hart on loan to Torino in Italy for the season because he believed the goalkeeper wasn't strong enough with his feet on the ball.
Hart returned from his loan spell with no prospect of breaking back into the City side, where offseason signing Ederson Moraes and Claudio Bravo will be preferred.
The 30-year-old Hart will now be back in the Premier league with West Ham in the buildup to the World Cup in Russia. "It's important for me to play football and to get the opportunity to come here and play is absolutely awesome," Hart said. "It was a fun year and I did enjoy being part of Serie A and part of Torino, but I'm ready to come back and looking forward to being part of this fantastic league again."
Hart, who joined City from Shrewsbury Town in 2006, can't play against his parent club while at West Ham under the terms of his loan agreement.