IN A WIDE-RANGING interview with The Daily Telegraph, Jose Mourinho gives his take on a myriad of topics including religion, philosophy and Sir Alex Ferguson.

But the stand-out moment comes right at the start when the Chelsea manager says:

“I think I have a problem, which is I’m getting better at everything related to my job since I started. There has been evolution in many different areas – the way I read the game; the way I prepare the game; the way I train; the methodology… I feel better and better.”

But Mourinho is strong on other topics too, including young players being given too much too soon and how parents’ involvement can have a negative effect.

I had one player, for example – I won’t name him – and I gave him the chance to play in the first team. A couple of weeks after he’d played his father left his job, his mother left her job; they were living with him, living his life, making decisions for him. It’s very difficult.”

Mourinho also reveals how his long-standing admiration for Sir Alex Ferguson stemmed from the 2004 Champions League clash between his then-side Porto and Manchester United.

Mourinho’s team progressed after a 1-1 second-leg draw at Old Trafford when the Portuguese infamously raced down the touchline celebrating Costinha’s vital equaliser.

“That was when I felt the two faces of such a big man. The first face was the competitor, the man that tried everything to win. And after that I found the man with principles, with the respect for the opponent, with the fair play – I found these two faces in that period, and that was very important for me.”

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