Jose Mourinho ready to extend Manchester United deal as he laughs off suggestions he will leave this summer
There were reports that Mourinho was unhappy with life in Manchester after not moving out of his hotel room
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Your support makes all the difference.Jose Mourinho has laughed off suggestions that his decision to live in a Manchester hotel, rather than buy a permanent residence, demonstrates a lack of commitment to his job at Old Trafford.
The United manager was responding to claims that club officials are fearful that he will walk out of his position this summer, just two years through the three-season deal he signed when succeeding Louis van Gaal.
Mourinho moved quickly, and emphatically, to deny such reports and was equally dismissive when addressing claims that his decision to rent an apartment in the city centre Lowry Hotel, rather than buying property in the area, shows his unhappiness at being in Manchester.
"If the fans want me to be comfortable, that's the way I feel comfortable, I am very lazy!” joked Mourinho. “I like to arrive in the hotel and I don't want anyone to worry because I'm not living in a two square metres room.
“I'm in an apartment where I have all the comfort and support, like living in a house. If they are worried about me being comfortable and happy and supported, I really am. If they want me to be in a house that I don't like, lonely, away from my assistants, then I would be a sad guy - and sad guys don't work well.”
Rumours have circulated that have suggested Mourinho has become more distant in his dealings with senior club officials in recent weeks - a period that has seen United’s title bid all but end and the club exit the EFL Cup at Championship club Bristol City.
However, he is adamant that not only will he see through his current deal - which the club has the right to extend for an extra year until the summer of 2020 - but that he sees his long-term future at Old Trafford.
“Look, it depends on what you want to know and what you want to speak about,” Mourinho said. “If you want to speak about some news, I say ‘garbage.’ I don't find a better word to define the talk.
“If you want to ask me directly, which I suppose you want, if I see myself next season in Manchester United, I say I see myself here. And, as I said when I arrived, I'm going to leave when the club wants me to leave, because I have no intention to leave at all.
“My intention is to stay, and to work and to improve and to bring the club where to where the club belongs and I want to stay. And I don't see any reason not to stay.
“Yes, I still have a contract, in fact I am in the middle of my contract, I am not in the last couple of months, and my desire is to stay until the owners and the board is happy with my work.”
Mourinho is currently in early talks with executive vice chairman Ed Woodward over a contract extension and appeared genuinely insulted at suggestions that his current mood suggests he has lost his passion and hunger for the job.
"Because I don't behave as a clown, it means I've lost my passion?” said Mourinho
“I prefer to behave as I am, more mature, better for myself and the team. You don't have to behave like a crazy guy. It's not what you do in front of the cameras.
“Speaking about my work and connecting my work to the garbage news is to say that the worst thing anyone can do to myself, is not to say that I am a bad manager, is not to say that I am under-performing or that I made a mistake in this game or that game, the worst thing someone can do is put one inch of doubt about my professionalism, my dedication to my club, to my job, to my players.
“So yes, the garbage news affected me just on this aspect because it's something I don't admit. But again, I repeat I am in the middle of my contract, if I am going to sign a new one or no, of course it depends on the club but my commitment with the club is total and I want to stay.”
Mourinho was talking ahead of this evening’s FA Cup third round tie with Championship side Derby, a game for which he expects to welcome back Romelu Lukaku, after he suffered a suspected concussion against Southampton last week, and midfielder Marouane Fellaini may also be fit enough to start.
Back-up goalkeeper Sergio Romero will replace David De Gea but Mourinho has no intention of treating the competition lightly by selecting a weakened team.
WI always give a lot of respect to the cups,” said Mourinho. “Of course the FA Cup is special in relation to the League Cup, but even the League Cup I was one of the first managers of the top teams to go to the League Cup to win it.
“The only good thing out of the bad against Bristol was that I couldn't blame myself, that I went there just to have some fun and play with kids and throw away the match. You finish the game and lose, you don’t blame yourself because of your choices. I’m going to do the same against Derby.”
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