Mourinho dismisses England link
Mourinho says he does not want the England job
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Sunday, 21, Oct 2007 11:58
Jose Mourinho says he has no desire to replace under-fire England manager Steve McLaren and that rumours linking him with the job are false.
Following the 2-1 defeat to Russia in midweek, speculation is mounting that the Football Association (FA) will replace McLaren if England should fail to reach Euro 2008.
If McLaren was sacked Mourinho insists he would not be interested in taking over from the former Middlesbrough manager.
Mourinho says the only national team he could ever manager is Portugal and claims he is not ready to take up that challenge yet.
He told the News of the World: "I couldn't see myself coaching any national team other than Portugal. If I were coach of another team and had to face Portugal, it would be wrong.
"I think there are those who adore me in England. I adore English football. But I won't go back there for now. I'd like to come back later."
Following his exit from Chelsea last month it is believed that Mourinho is prevented from taking another job in England this season as part of his severance agreement.
Having spent time coaching in Portugal, Spain and England the 44-year-old says he is likely to seek a fresh start in another country.
"I'd like to continue in club management, perhaps in Italy where I can test myself against their tacticians. The national team would be for later," he explained.
Mourinho said he was not attracted to international management because of the amount of inactivity, but did admit that he would like to manage the Portuguese side at the end of his career.
He said: "The national team is an obsession for me but it will be at the end of my career. Let there be no doubt about that."