Jose Mourinho has insisted he has "no regrets" over his time at Manchester United ahead of returning to Old Trafford with Tottenham on Wednesday.

Mourinho's two-and-a-half-year spell at United turned sour before his dismissal in December 2018 but he led the club to a second-place finish in 2017-18 and won the League Cup and Europa League the previous season.

The Portuguese had a strained relationship with a number of senior players, notably World Cup winner Paul Pogba, and repeatedly clashed with Red Devils chief Ed Woodward over transfers.

After 11 months out of the game, he was appointed Spurs boss last month, replacing the sacked Mauricio Pochettino, and Mourinho insists he enjoyed his time in Manchester.

"This is a closed chapter for me," said Mourinho, who has guided Spurs to three consecutive victories. "I left the club and took my time to process everything that happened. I took my time to prepare myself for the next challenge.

"Honestly, Manchester United for me now is in my history book. Like Mr. [Nelson] Mandela was saying: 'You never lose – you win or you learn'. At United I won and I learned. No regrets."

"Going back to Old Trafford is to go back to a place where I was happy," he added. "I have a great relationship with Manchester United supporters. I went back as a pundit [and] was really humbled by such a beautiful reception.

"Tomorrow I go back as the coach of the team that is going to try to beat Manchester United. I expect this respect that they always show towards me, but I understand what they want is exactly the opposite of what I want. I want Tottenham to win, they want Manchester United to win. During the match I expect them to forget me and I expect them to support their team to get the result they want.

"Before the game and after, one thing is to be in the corridor where I don’t know anybody. Another thing is to meet in the corridor good friends, people who work with me, people who I have a very good relationship with, people I keep in contract with on the phone, SMS, WhatsApp. That’s a different thing. Before and after the game, it’s going to be a little bit different and I’m happy with that. During the game, there’s no space for any feelings at all.

"I’m not a villain, I’m not an enemy but I am the coach trying to win against Manchester United – that’s how they’re going to look at me. They’re not going to support me, they’re going to support [current boss Ole Gunnar] Solskjaer."

Mourinho's demeanour in his first fortnight at Spurs has been noticeably different from the death throes of his spell at United, when he cut a miserable and confrontational figure.

But he said: "I am the same guy, I am very happy, I am very happy. I cannot hide that, I don't want to hide, but even if I tried I clearly could not be successful. I think that everybody that knows me feels that I am happy and that is the important thing. Not to compare with one year ago, not to try and anticipate and try and compare with one year from now. Now is when I am really happy."

Jose Mourinho's managerial career in trophies 8 show all Jose Mourinho's managerial career in trophies 1/8 Jose Mourinho's managerial career in trophies AFP/Getty Images/Odd Andersen 2/8 Porto Primeira Liga: 2003, 2004

Taça de Portugal: 2003

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2003

Uefa Cup: 2003

Champions League: 2004 Getty Images 3/8 Chelsea (first spell) Premier League: 2005, 2006

FA Cup: 2007

League Cup: 2005, 2007

Community Shield: 2005 Getty Images 4/8 Inter Milan Supercoppa Italiana: 2008

Seria A: 2009, 2010

Coppa Italia: 2010

Champions League: 2010 Getty Images 5/8 Real Madrid Copa del Rey: 2011

La Liga: 2012

Supercopa de España: 2012 AFP via Getty Images 6/8 Chelsea (second spell) Premier League: 2015

League Cup: 2015

AFP via Getty Images 7/8 Man Utd Community Shield: 2016

EFL Cup: 2017

Europa League: 2016-17 AFP via Getty Images 8/8 Tottenham Will the new Spurs head coach end their 12-year wait for solverware? AFP via Getty Images 1/8 Jose Mourinho's managerial career in trophies AFP/Getty Images/Odd Andersen 2/8 Porto Primeira Liga: 2003, 2004

Taça de Portugal: 2003

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2003

Uefa Cup: 2003

Champions League: 2004 Getty Images 3/8 Chelsea (first spell) Premier League: 2005, 2006

FA Cup: 2007

League Cup: 2005, 2007

Community Shield: 2005 Getty Images 4/8 Inter Milan Supercoppa Italiana: 2008

Seria A: 2009, 2010

Coppa Italia: 2010

Champions League: 2010 Getty Images 5/8 Real Madrid Copa del Rey: 2011

La Liga: 2012

Supercopa de España: 2012 AFP via Getty Images 6/8 Chelsea (second spell) Premier League: 2015

League Cup: 2015

AFP via Getty Images 7/8 Man Utd Community Shield: 2016

EFL Cup: 2017

Europa League: 2016-17 AFP via Getty Images 8/8 Tottenham Will the new Spurs head coach end their 12-year wait for solverware? AFP via Getty Images

Meanwhile, Mourinho revealed that he is "in love" with Heung-min Son and heaped further praise on Dele Alli, who has scored three times in as many matches since the Portuguese took charge.

"I want to congratulate Son," Mourinho said of the South Korean, who was named Asian Player of the Year for a record third time this week. "I am here for 10 or 12 days, in love with that guy, so I can imagine the people that are here with him four or five years – fantastic player, fantastic boy. Everyone in the club is so, so happy with him.

On Alli, he added: "Dele can do anything he wants. I think he has the talent, he has already the right age, the right experience, already experience at the highest level, playing the Champions League, playing for the national team in the biggest competitions, lots of talent, young. He has everything. It is just a question about motivation every day.

"This is not an individual thing, this is about everybody. Amazing potential, again we are going to try and develop this talent to be consistent and be great for club and national team. That is what we are going to do. He wants, clearly he wants and we are going to try and give everything to reach this level.

"Ups and downs will always happen, especially with younger people. So when the ups are we need balance, when the downs appear we need also balance. We need to balance."