Wednesday 23 November 2016 20:34, UK
Jose Mourinho hopes to stay at Manchester United beyond the end of his current three-year contract, but knows results must improve for that to happen.
United face Feyenoord in the Europa League at Old Trafford on Thursday in a game they cannot afford to lose if they are to qualify for the knockout stages.
A defeat would heap further pressure on Mourinho, who has seen his team win just twice in the Premier League since August, with four draws and three defeats.
The Portuguese boss, who replaced Louis van Gaal in the summer, is determined to convince the club's hierarchy his long-term future lies at Old Trafford.
Mourinho said: "Let's go step by step. I am in the beginning of my contract, in the beginning of the process.
"If you ask me if I want to stay longer than three years then I say yes, I would love it, but also I have to earn and deserve that.
"If the club feels I deserve to stay then I will be very, very proud."
United's board gave Mourinho their full backing in the summer by breaking the world transfer record to land Paul Pogba from Juventus and also signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Eric Bailly.
Mourinho acknowledges that level of expenditure naturally raises expectations about what the team can achieve but feels his team have been unlucky not to get greater reward for some of their recent performances.
"The three-year contract I was given is a fair period of time," Mourinho said. "My three years isn't just about transfer windows, it is about building relationships with the players.
"I am not waiting for my third season for good results. I am doing my best to get results in my first season.
"The results are not good enough - especially if you compare the results with the way the team is playing.
"For example, if you have a draw against Arsenal it is quite a normal result. It is not a dramatic result to draw against a very good team like Arsenal.
"The drama is you play so well - you dominate totally - then the result becomes really bad because of the way we are performing.
"Especially the last three matches at home, we can say we lost six points against Stoke, Burnley and Arsenal."
United head into Thursday night's Europa League game in third place in Group A, one point behind joint leaders Fenerbahce and Feyenoord.
Mourinho is set to give Mkhitaryan a rare chance to impress, while Luke Shaw is also ready to return for the first time since Mourinho appeared to question the full-back's apparent unwillingness to play through the pain barrier at Swansea a fortnight ago.
"We need four points to qualify - there is no space for a defeat," Mourinho said. "Tomorrow becomes a game where we have only two options - win or draw. If we have a defeat we are out
"We are going to approach the game knowing that. It is a knockout game for us. If we lose we are out so we cannot lose."
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