Jose Mourinho back, and how

Jose Mourinho ridiculed predecessor Louis van Gaal’s reliance on having a philosophy and said his only aim as Manchester United manager will be to win as he was introduced to fans yesterday.

“I was never very good at hiding behind words and philosophies. I was never good at that,” said Mourinho, who remarked that he felt he had got the United job at the right time of his life. “It would be pragmatic to say: Let’s try to get back to the top four. I prefer to be more aggressive. We want to win.”

He also called out his rival managers, and seems to be continuing his feud with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. “There are some managers that the last time they won a title was 10 years ago. Some of them the last time they won a title was never. The last time I won a title was one year ago, not 10 years ago or 15 years ago so if I have a lot to prove, imagine the others.”

“To speak about one manager (Pep Guardiola), one club, one enemy I don’t think it is right. In the Premier League it doesn’t make sense at all. If you focus on one opponent, the others will be laughing so I am not going to be part of it.”

Mourinho also sought to reassure Wayne Rooney of his place at United. But he insisted that he sees Rooney’s future as a goal scorer, not a midfielder. “Maybe he is not a number nine but he will never be a number six. He will never be 50 metres from the goal.”