By Simon Evans
MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - Former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has said coaches need structures in place to support them as he broke his silence following his sacking by highlighting the difficulties he faced at the Premier League club.
Mourinho was dismissed by United last month after a rancour-filled final few months in the job amid media reports of conflicts with players.
Appearing as an analyst with BeInSports television, Mourinho repeated that his second-placed finish with United last season was one of the best achievements of his career and went on to outline the challenges he said he faced.
"People might say: 'This guy is crazy, he won 25 titles and now he says that second position with United was one of his best achievements in football'," Mourinho said.
"I keep saying this because people don’t know what is going on behind the scenes."
Mourinho made his point by talking about the set-up that managers need to have in place in order to be successful.
"We are not any more in a time when the coach by himself is powerful enough to cope," he said.
"The coach nowadays needs a structure, he needs a club organised in a certain way.
"The club must have an owner or a president, a CEO or executive director, a football director and then the manager. This is the structure that can cope with all the problems modernity is bringing all of us.
"A club must be very well organised to cope with all these kind of situations where the manager is only the manager and not the man that is trying to keep the discipline or is trying to educate the players," he added.
"(Former United manager) Sir Alex Ferguson used to say the day a player is more important than a club, goodbye,” said the Portuguese, a former Real Madrid and Inter Milan coach.
"Not any more. The manager ought to be there to coach the players, not to keep the discipline at any cost. You need a structure to protect the manager and keep everything in place, so that the players do not arrive in a situation where they feel more powerful than they used to be."
United have won all five games in the Premier League since former player, Norwegian Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, took charge of the side on an interim basis following Mourinho's departure.
Mourinho, who also had two spells in the Premier League with Chelsea, said he aims to be back in full-time management and has no intention of retiring yet.
"I want to coach. I belong to top-level football and (that) is where I am going to be.
"I am too young, I am in football for a long, long time but I will be 56 in a couple of weeks and am really too young."
ADVERTISEMENT(Reporting by Simon Evans; Editing by Toby Davis)