Jose Mourinho says he has developed a more mature outlook on life

Jose Mourinho believes his new-found maturity has helped him to establish "relationships of love and peace" with the Manchester United players.

The 54-year-old Portuguese, who first arrived in the Premier League with Chelsea in 2004, has spent almost a decade in England, twice leaving Stamford Bridge under a cloud.

After three-quarters of his debut season as Old Trafford chief, he feels his calmer outlook is having a positive effect on the United players.

Mourinho lifts the League Cup in February

In an interview with France Football, carried in the Guardian, he said: "Mourinho the man tries to be the opposite of what the manager is. He tries to be discreet and calm. To find a way to disconnect.

"I can go home and not watch a football match, not think about football. I can do that. At the start of my career, I couldn't. I was switched on 24 hours a day. I had to find a kind of maturity.

"Today I feel comfortable with my personality as a man. I've matured, I'm more at peace. A win no longer represents the moon to me, and a defeat no longer means hell. And I think I can transmit that serenity to the people who work with me, my players.

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho says he'd prefer to win the Europa League rather than finish in the Premier League top four Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho says he'd prefer to win the Europa League rather than finish in the Premier League top four

"I have the same ambitions as before, the same involvement and the same professionalism. But I am more in control of my emotions."

Mourinho's second stint with Chelsea ended acrimoniously, as his relationship with the squad appeared to sour after he fell out with the team doctor Eva Carneiro during the 2015-16 campaign.

He believes he has built successful relationships with his United players, though, saying: "You have to adapt to a club's reality, needs and demands. That means being intelligent.

"The priority is to establish relationships of love and peace in a group, to create stability. Manchester United no longer has the super personalities that were (Ryan) Giggs, (Paul) Scholes or Roy Keane.

Mourinho has stressed the importance of Zlatan Ibrahimovic to him - and United.

"(Wayne) Rooney and (Michael) Carrick are still here and they are the last remnants of that generation, and then there is a new group of players that has to adapt. That's why it was important for me to bring in Zlatan (Ibrahimovic).

"In this team, and without being English and knowing the culture of the club, he had the personality and profile to be more than just a player."

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