Mourinho targets 15-year stay at Man United

[PHOTO: COURTESY]

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho wants to stay at Old Trafford for the next 15 years but concedes the pressures of managing at the top level make a long tenure difficult.

Mourinho, who previously won league titles in Portugal, Spain, Italy and England, has never been in charge for more than three seasons at his previous clubs.

"I am ready for this," Mourinho told ESPN. "I am ready for the next 15, I would say. Here? Yes, why not?

"I have to admit that it is very difficult because of the pressure around our jobs, everybody putting pressure on managers ... but in reality only one can win and every year it is getting more difficult.

"In my vision, my job is much more than what I do on the pitch and the results that my team gets at the weekend."

Mourinho said long-term stability could bring great benefits at the club as he hopes to emulate Alex Ferguson, who led United to 13 Premier League titles and two Champions League trophies during his 26 years in charge.

"This club, for so many years, was Sir Alex," Mourinho added. "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."

Mourinho, who was sacked months after Chelsea won the league title in 2015, took charge as United's third full-time manager in three years at the start of last season.

Despite winning the League Cup and Europa League in his first season, Mourinho is aware he will be under scrutiny again during the upcoming season.

"You have huge success in one year, the next year you don't have success and you are out," said Mourinho. "It happened to me at Chelsea, it happened to (Claudio) Ranieri at Leicester, it will happen to many others. Nowadays, people look much more on the short term."

United, who finished sixth in the league last season, host West Ham in their first game of the campaign on Aug. 13.