Former Chelsea and Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is out of employment after leaving AS Roma and has been linked with a return to the Premier League.
Jose Mourinho has admitted he ‘didn’t enjoy’ managing at St James’ Park during his stint in the Premier League, citing a poor record as a visiting manager. The 61-year-old just departed AS Roma as manager and is looking for new opportunities after a two-and-a-half-year stint in the Italian city.
He has recently been linked with a surprise return to English football, with Old Trafford and St James’ Park being mentioned as prospective destinations for him. Mourinho discussed with Rio Ferdinand on the Five podcast who he preferred competing against during his management career, as well as why he disliked taking his teams to Tyneside.
Mourinho stated: “When people talk about me and [Arsene] Wenger, we had our things on the touchline, in words. But what I enjoyed the most was thrashing Arsenal every time we played them, because it was always Chelsea, boom, boom. That is what I enjoyed.
“I didn’t enjoy to play in Newcastle because I never win. Every time I went to Newcastle it was lose or draw, lose or draw. I think I won there once probably with Chelsea, with Man United or Tottenham. Out of 10 I would win once or twice.
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“There was no rivalry with [Alan] Pardew or with [Sam] Allardyce or anyone there. I just knew that going to play St James’ was really, really hard.”
Mourinho won on his first visit to St James’ Park, when Chelsea defeated Newcastle 2-0 in the League Cup in November 2004. He duplicated the feat two years later, as the Blues overcame Newcastle 2-0 in another League Cup match.
However, these would be his only victories at the ground until his Tottenham Hotspur team defeated Newcastle 3-1 in July 2020, a match played behind closed doors due to Covid-19 limitations. His league record at St James’ Park is now nine games played, with one victory, four draws, and four loses.
Alan Shearer recently remarked about conjecture tying Mourinho with the replacement of Eddie Howe at Newcastle United, saying on the Rest is Football podcast: “He’s had a tremendous career, Jose. I am not sure where he will go next. But, no, I am very pleased with Eddie Howe at Newcastle, and the work he has done and is doing.”
