Saturday 13 August 2016 21:21, UK
Jose Mourinho has revealed he has been studying Manchester United closely since December in order to pinpoint exactly how the squad needed to be transformed this summer.
Mourinho's arrival at Old Trafford has coincided with a busy transfer window for the Red Devils, with world record signing Paul Pogba joining Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Eric Bailly and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
The decisive manner United have concluded their transfer business has been in contrast to the tenures of David Moyes and Louis van Gaal, which saw deals done on deadline day for three consecutive years with the signings of Marouane Fellaini, Radamel Falcao and Anthony Martial.
Mourinho arrived at United with clear instructions on what he wanted - a centre-back, a central midfielder, an attacking midfielder and a striker and he gave Ed Woodward a list of potential options at each position.
The Portuguese believes United's summer transfer business has put them in a great position to succeed this season and praised club's money men for their "magnificent" approach to pushing through the deals.
"First of all, I didn't buy them. I don't have enough money to pay that amount," Mourinho said, ahead of Sunday's Premier League opener at Bournemouth, live on Sky Sports 1 HD.
"So credit to the club, credit to the potential that the club has, not just financially but also what the club means for the world of football to attract players.
"I think I gave a contribution because I was very objective. I think some managers, they have doubts. I don't know the word but they find it difficult to decide, they are almost decided and then you come with another idea. Then the clubs feel that you are not so sure about it. I was very objective from day one.
"I was not working since December. I watched Manchester United play many, many times. I had an idea about the squad and when I arrived I was ready to be objective.
"This is what I would like to have, decide the numbers for each position. So if you cannot get this one then you have the second, third or fourth. Every time I was making a written report to the board, I think the board could feel consistency in my analysis.
"The targets were there on the table, after that was the club power and they were very strong, they were very good and they did everything before August 14. They could have done August 30, but, no, they did it by August 14."
While the approach of Mourinho's predecessor Van Gaal to transfers may have been at times chaotic, his style of play was far too structured for Manchester United fans' liking and chants of "attack, attack, attack" became a regular feature of games at Old Trafford last season.
Mourinho has been brought in to change that approach but he warned United fans he will always prioritise substance over style and believes winning is what is ultimately important.
"I came to England in 2004, and I saw Manchester United as a winning team, not as always an attacking team," he said. "I played sometimes against Manchester United and they were a defensive team.
"I played Real Madrid-Manchester United in Madrid and they crossed the midfield line twice with Wayne Rooney played outside-left to defend my right-back.
"I saw them always as a winning team with an attacking philosophy, but a winning team. That's the challenge for Manchester United, to try to be a winning team in a new era of the Premier League that is much more difficult than before.
"So our job is really difficult but we want to win matches, we want to win competitions, and to win isolated matches you can play bad but to win competitions you need to play well."
