Mourinho keen to 'do a Mauricio' with five-year stay at Tottenham

Tottenham gave Jose Mourinho a three-and-a-half-year contract and he would like to stay longer in what he expects to be a final English job.

Published : Nov 22, 2019 21:37 IST

Jose Mourinho and Mauricio Pochettino.
Jose Mourinho and Mauricio Pochettino.
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Jose Mourinho and Mauricio Pochettino.

Jose Mourinho knows Tottenham is probably his last major club job in English football and would love to emulate the length of Mauricio Pochettino's stay in north London.

Spurs sacked Pochettino after five-and-a-half years at the helm on Tuesday, moving swiftly to secure former Manchester United boss Mourinho as his replacement.

The 56-year-old has penned terms until the end of the 2022-23 season and spoke glowingly of the squad, facilities and wider project he has inherited in north London when facing the media for the first time in his new role.

As such, he has designs on staying in charge even longer and matching Pochettino's longevity.

"I would love to stay many years," he said. "When I say many years, I know realistically how football is.

"If I could do a Mauricio, five-and-a-half years, it would be amazing."

A three-time Premier League winner across two spells at Chelsea, Mourinho suggested he has 10 years left in the game when pondering his long-term future.

That means, if all goes to plan at Spurs, this job will conclude his time in a division with which he will be forever associated.

Other potential stops sketched out for his final years could be boyhood club Vitoria Setubal back in Portugal and his national team,

"So, I'm 56, 61 [after five years at Tottenham]," he added.

"Ten more years – Vitoria Setubal, Portugal. It's maybe the last [job in England], yeah."

The immediate item on the agenda for Mourinho is a trip to face old foe Manuel Pellegrini and a West Ham side enduring a similarly underwhelming campaign to Spurs.

Tottenham is winless in the Premier League since the end of September, with a return of three draws from their past five matches.

It lies 14th – two places and a point better off than West Ham, who last won six games ago at home to Mourinho's old employers from Old Trafford.

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