Jose Mourinho saw his spells at Manchester United and Chelsea end in similar ways but does not believe he is in danger of the pattern repeating itself at AS Roma.
Former Manchester United and Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho does not believe he’s in danger of the ‘third season syndrome’ which plagued his spells with the two Premier League clubs
Mourinho’s second stint as Chelsea boss ended acrimoniously after he won the league in his second season but left with the club at risk of relegation midway through his third. It was a similar story at United, when a second-place finish in 2017-18 was followed by his dismissal just months into the following campaign.
The Portuguese boss won the Europa Conference League in his first season with current club Roma and reached the Europa League final in his second. A return of five points from six games this term has left him under pressure, but he brushed off suggestions a pattern has emerged.
I don’t see it that way, I think if a person is happy, he does not change, it doesn’t matter if it’s the third, fifth or 10th year,” Mourinho told reporters ahead of Sunday’s game against Frosinone (as translated by Football Italia). “There are problems in the first too, if you talk about human relationships then we can be friends even after 50 years.
“I think when you no longer feel that love, you have to say enough is enough. Sometimes you are tired even if it’s a rapport without problems. There are coaches at clubs like Manchester City who can pay €100m for a new player without batting an eyelid.
“I think it’s not about time, but a rapport that either is there or isn’t, and in my case it is here. I don’t want to go back to the question about the hypothetical [contract] renewal, but I love coming to work every day and I cannot say I had a club where I enjoyed it more than anywhere else.”.
Roma added plenty of new faces over the summer after narrowly missing out on Champions League qualification. Romelu Lukaku joined on loan from Chelsea, while the likes of Leandro Paredes and Houssem Aouar have also arrived.
Results haven’t followed, though, with the poor league form from the end of last season cotninuing into the current campaign. Roma have won just two of their last 14 Serie A matches, though one of those was a 7-0 demolition of Empoli in mid-September.