Man United want Jose Mourinho to stay more than three years

Manchester United want José Mourinho to stay beyond his three-year contract and establish a dynasty at the club, despite the Portuguese's record of never being in one place for more than three full seasons in any of his previous jobs.

Mourinho is also intent on managing United in the long term and indicated this to Ed Woodward, the club's executive vice-chairman, during last week's negotiations when he finalised his deal in London.

While Sir Alex Ferguson managed United between November 1986 and May 2013, David Moyes was sacked after only 34 games. This was despite the Scot being handed a six-year contract in the hope he could continue the stability and extended success established by Ferguson.

Louis van Gaal, who was sacked last Monday by Woodward, did not serve the full three years of his deal either, leaving after only two years.

Yet these failures have not dissuaded the United executive from the plan for a long-term manager and the club are of a mind that Mourinho can provide this.

United is the seventh job of the 53-year-old’s 16-season management career. The longest he has stayed was at Chelsea during his first tenure. There he served three full terms before being sacked by them for the first time in September 2007.

At Porto, between 2002-04, and Internazionale, 2008-10, Mourinho departed after two seasons, after winning the European Cup each time in the second term. At Real Madrid, from 2010-13, there were three full seasons and at Chelsea from 2013 to December of last year there were two and a half terms, while there was the 2001-02 campaign at União de Leiria, plus nine games at Benfica in 2000, in a truncated first position of Mourinho’s career.

Now, he is determined to stay at United, much as he was previously at Chelsea for his second spell. In summer 2013 Mourinho described himself as the “Happy One” and the following December talked of a 12-year tenure at the club.

“I would like [to stay for], say, 12 years,” he said then. “The best way to [run a club]is to do it with stability. For the players, if you want to help them grow up, you do that much better with stability: in ideas, philosophy, model of play, style of leadership. This all comes from stability at the highest level: with the owners and board and, after that, the manager, the second line of the hierarchy. That stability is very important. You look, for example, to Manchester United and everybody feels David [Moyes]will have his time to do his work in a calm way. I think that’s fantastic.”

Moreover, the comments Mourinho made in his first interview on being announced as manager, to the club’s in-house channel, MUTV, hinted at his desire to lead United into a new era of prolonged success.

He spoke of the “empathy” he already has for United and of how there is a determination to give everything for his new club. The manner of his sacking by Chelsea in December, which came after it became evident the title defence was going to be a particular failure, has made the Portuguese ever more determined to show he can be successful in the United job, which he has long coveted.

Mourinho hoped to be appointed when Ferguson announced he was stepping down three years ago but he was passed over for Moyes. Sir Bobby Charlton had previously told the Guardian he was unsure if Mourinho was the right kind of manager for United and that Ferguson did not like him "too much".

If United and Mourinho are to have a long-term relationship, he can be expected to keep relations cordial with Ferguson and Charlton, who remain on the board as directors.

Mourinho will take charge of the squad for the first time in early July. The club may wait until then for his official unveiling.

(Guardian service)