Jose Mourinho admits that he was nervous before his first Premier League game in charge of Manchester United away to Bournemouth on Sunday.
United began their league campaign with a convincing 3-1 victory thanks to goals from Juan Mata, Wayne Rooney and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, with Adam Smith netting a consolation for the hosts at the Vitality Stadium.
The result extended Mourinho’s impressive run of opening-day results in England’s top flight, with the former Chelsea boss having won seven and drawn one of his eight such encounters in his career.
Yet despite his experience in the Premier League and league titles claimed in Portugal, Italy and Spain, Mourinho says he felt the anxiety ahead of Sunday’s clash.
“Before the match, a little bit, yeah,” he replied when asked if he had felt the nerves. “For somebody to have that feeling is normal.
“One day, I took Real Madrid to Old Trafford and I asked Sir Alex [Ferguson], are you still nervous? ‘Yes’. So I understood. Experience doesn’t change things. You always have a little feeling.”
United’s win sees them top the table, but Mourinho does not believe his side needed to lay down a marker about their title aspirations.
“I don’t think they need a statement. Everybody knows we’re going to fight for the title. Winning it or not is another story. But we’ll fight until it’s possible,” he said.
“If it’s mathematically not possible one day, we’ll think about top four. That would be a step up from last season, which is fine. But we want more than fine.
“I started bad with Inter, one draw at home, and we won the treble. With Porto, it was the same. But the reality is that winning the Community Shield has brought some happiness, then we’ve had a win away from home. We go into Friday [against Southampton] with a good feeling.”
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