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12 things we learnt from Mourinho's first Manchester United press conference

12 things we learnt from Mourinho's first Manchester United press conference

12 things we learnt from Mourinho's first Manchester United press conference

The "different one".

Unveiled officially in front of the media today, new Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho was quick to point out he was a different sort of man to the one who strode in so confidentiality to the Premier League back in 2004. Could have fooled us.

In a typically bullish mood, Jose's answers look set to shake up the back pages for days, tackling question after question with the no-nonsense attitude of a meaty Claude Makélélé challenge, providing honest and eyebrow-raising soundbites which now help us better understand his grand plan at Old Trafford.

Here are the best bits:

He will never play Wayne Rooney as a deep-lying midfielder

"Maybe he is not a striker, not a No. 9 any more but for me he will never be a No. 6, playing 50 metres from the goal. You can tell me his pass is amazing but my pass is also amazing without pressure.

"To be there and put the ball in the net is the most difficult thing. For me he will be a 9, a 10, a nine and a half but never a 6 or an 8.”


He basically told Ryan Giggs to get a proper job

"About Ryan, let me finish. I never run away about my responsibility. It is not my responsibility that Ryan is not in the club. The job Ryan wanted is the job the club decided to give me. Ryan wanted to be Manchester United manager and the owners, Mr Woodward decided to give the job to me.

"Like 2000, I decide I want to be a manager. For many of us, we start as assistant coaches and for many of us, arrives the moment we make a decision. So when you are speaking about did I offer him a job. He could be what he wanted in the club. The club wanted to give him any important job in the club.

"Happened with myself in Barcelona in 2000, I had a contract for another two years. It was not easy to go to another fight. For Ryan it is not easy to go the step from assistant to manager, it is the step to leave his house of 29.

"He was brave, he is honest, so good luck so if one day he wants to come back when I am here, and if one day the club offers him the chance to be manager, I think it will something natural and the consequence of his success in his career."


He’s not the special one, he’s a different one

"I don’t know, really. The other two times, I was arriving at the country, this is a different one. I was sacked by Chelsea and then I stayed in the same country, the same competition with the same faces in front of me so it is nothing new for me really it is just to arrive into a club which is difficult to describe, to find the right words to describe this club.”


In reminding people of his recent track record there was also a subtle dig at Arsene Wenger

“Some managers – the last time they won a title was 10 years ago. Some of them – never. The last time I won a title was a year ago. So if I have a lot to prove, imagine the others.”


And Louis Van Gaal…

"I was never very good playing with the words or hiding behind words and hiding behind philosophies. I never tried to be good at that.

"I was always much more aggressive in my approach with the risks that can bring and it would be easy and even honest and pragmatic to focus on the last three years on the fact that we don’t qualify for Champions League and so on and so on and be quite pragmatic to say let’s work and try and be back to the Champions League, try and be back to the top four, try and be back to the Europa League.”


In fact he wants the player to forget the last four years completely

"Manchester United for many years success was just routine and in this moment the last three years are to forget. I want the players to forget. I don’t want the players to think we have to do better and finish fourth. Finish fourth is not the aim.

"This is what I do with myself. I am 53, I am not 63 or 73. Maybe you are tired with myself because I started at such a young level. I am a young manager. If I don’t go for big [unclear] I am in trouble. The reality I was in trouble for the last five months."


Fergie has already given him some choice advice about Manchester

[Asked if Sir Alex had given him any tips] “Yes - bring the umbrella. Yesterday I couldn’t believe it was raining in the training ground. It was great advice. The second advice was to bring my typical bottle of wine. Now we are going to have many occasions to be together.

"At the moment Sir Alex is on a bit of a holiday at the Euros so I cannot see him this week but when his holidays are finished we will have lots of time to meet. He will always be welcome to the training ground and we will have a lot of time to share our personal stuff.

"His opinion is important to me, the same way so many legends love this club and they are in the pundits industry and every opinion will be important to me. I will try and learn from them."


He’s where he wants to be, the club isn’t

“I am where I want to be in this club, in this country, in the domestic cups, I feel a bit frustrated I am not playing Champions League. I don’t hide I chase Sir Alex’s record in the Champions League for matches as a manager I am around 130 matches.

“Hopefully it is only one season I am not there. When I say 'we', obviously the club is more important than myself, Manchester United is more important than myself and we have to make sure July 2017 this club is where it has to be - in the Champions League.”


Asked about his reputation for stagnating youth players, he went on the defensive

"I have no time to answer it. To answer it would take 10 minutes. I knew that was coming. You know how many young players I promote to the first team from academies? 49? Do you want to know who they are? I can give you that. I promote 49 players from the academies from the clubs and with two factors, sometimes you promote players because you don’t have another chance because you have so many injuries.

"I never promote players because of need, I did it because of conviction and decision. Last year was the only season of my career when I was not fighting for the title winning or finishing second or third once so it was never a situation of stability and no pressure to promote players. I did 49.

"Some of them are big names, they are today Champions League winners in the Euros, playing for national teams and 49 is a lot. So one lie repeated many times sometimes it looks true but it will never be true. 49. If you want the names, I give you the names."


He’s close to making a third (reportedly Henrikh Mkhitaryan) and fourth signing to join Zlatan and Eric Bailly

"I don’t know. I think the third player is official or not yet? So the third player will be official, when? Soon. I can try to make you understand the profile. We made a nucleus of four priorities, four positions to give a certain balance to the squad, to give a certain push in terms of quality and the qualities I need and want.

"We are not going to get the fourth on the 31st of August, we will get the fourth before then. There is something for me, that the players I keep are all happy. Imagine first match I don’t select somebody, he gets disappointed he has the chance to go to another club. If he leaves, somebody else has to come in.”


Who will be ‘specialist’ players

"Especially the ones with more vision. I am more a manager that likes specialists and not so much the multi-functional players because I am very clear in my approach. Multi-functional players are like one or two, when you are in trouble you need someone who can fill but basically I want specialists."


The fighting talk has started already

“What is playing well? It is scoring more goals than the opponents, conceding less, making your fans proud because you give everything and you win. It is everything at the same time.

"It is an aggressive approach by myself. I want everything. Of course we are not going to get everything but we want to."