Jose Mourinho has written Manchester United a six-page letter explaining his strong desire to manage the club and how he would be willing to adhere to United’s principles. He also outlined his plans for the team, and the key decisions he would take.

Mourinho, who was sacked by Chelsea last month, believes that a detailed charm offensive can finally secure his dream job of managing United once his old mentor Louis van Gaal leaves, and that depature is now widely expected to come in the summer.

Though Mourinho immediately targeted United as his next job after leaving Chelsea, the 52-year-old was keen not to step on Van Gaal’s toes. He worked for the Dutch coach at Barcelona between 1997-2000, and greatly respects him.

Yet United’s recent poor results, not least the 1-0 home defeat by Southampton yesterday, have opened up the possibility that Van Gaal’s time is running out, so Mourinho’s representative Jorge Mendes contacted the United board to discuss the future.

Though many among the United hierarchy were more open to appointing the Portuguese than they were when Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, the former Chelsea manager’s camp were made aware that there was a still a considerable faction at the club opposed to hiring him. The reasons are thought to range from Mourinho’s regular controversies, his style of football and his failure to nurture young talent.

Jose Mourinho's season in quotes Show all 10 1 /10 Jose Mourinho's season in quotes Jose Mourinho's season in quotes On the Eva Carneiro row 'You have to understand the game even if you’re a kit man, a doctor or a secretary on the bench' Reuters Jose Mourinho's season in quotes On the Eva Carniero row (ii) 'I was unhappy with my medical staff. They were impulsive and naive' Jose Mourinho's season in quotes After 2-1 defeat at home to Crystal Palace 'We didn't deserve to lose. But Palace gave us a very difficult game. The result should be a draw, which would still be bad for us. We did enough not to lose' Jose Mourinho's season in quotes After 3-1 defeat at Everton 'I am not feeling pressure. The results are the worst in my career. They are not adapted to my quality, my status, but I am coping well with the situation. I am the man for the job. I don't think there is better man who could come and do my job' Jose Mourinho's season in quotes After 3-1 home defeat to Southampton 'When we are at the top I understand that there is quite a big pleasure in putting us down but when you are down I think you need to be a bit honest and to make clear that the referees are afraid to give decisions for Chelsea”. "I repeat, if the FA want to punish me, they can punish me, they don't punish other managers, they punish me - it's not a problem for me. But I want to repeat because I think my players deserve it, I think our fans deserve it and I am a Chelsea fan too. I want to say it again: referees are afraid to give decisions for Chelsea' Jose Mourinho's season in quotes To referee Jon Moss, a comment that got him sent to the stands at West Ham 'Wenger is right about you… you are f****** weak' Jose Mourinho's season in quotes After being fined £50,000 for his comments about officials being 'scared' to award Chelsea decisions 'I'm happy I don't have an electronic tag' Jose Mourinho's season in quotes Refusing to answer any questions after Chelsea are beating 3-1 by Liverpool 'I have nothing to say. I have nothing to say. I have nothing to say. I'm so sorry. I have nothing to say' Jose Mourinho's season in quotes After Glenn Murray's offside goal gave Bournemouth a famous win 'In the moment when our opponent were thinking just about defending a clean sheet they cross the halfway line for the first time and scored. If it was offside it is another episode that goes against us, but I did not' Jose Mourinho's season in quotes After defeat to Leicester City on Monday 'One of my best qualities is to read the game for my players and I feel like my work was betrayed'

The Portuguese is well aware of this thinking, and that is why he took the decision to write a lengthy document, emphasising just how much he wants the job and how he would be willing to adapt his style to meet United’s principles. They have traditionally prided themselves on playing open, attacking football, and they have always set great store on developing their own young players.

In his submission Mourinho also presented a forensic analysis of this season’s team. The Portuguese has gone through every area of the current squad, offering extensive thoughts on what could be improved as well as making suggestion about signings that could help strengthen the squad.

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