Mourinho spaces himself from Newcastle manager's job

Jose Mourinho seems to have ruled out replacing Rafa Benitez for Newcastle United, because he says he is a "winner."

The former Chelsea and Manchester United coach said he did not want to run a club that would be happy to finish ninth.

Mourinho, who has been unemployed since December, was linked to the post with reports of a takeover of billionaire Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nehayan  of Dubai.

Mourinho told The Coaches' Voice before Benitez's departure: "The only thing I know is what I do not want: I'm pretty pathological in the sense of having to play to win.

"So if I do not win, then that's my problem and the players and the club and the structure, but I need a project where the feeling is that I play to win.

"If someone gives me a wonderful 10-year contract and the team's goal is to stay on the first half of the table and if you finish seventh, eighth or ninth, it's perfect, so that's not for me.

"My next [position] is to fight to win."

Several experienced managers have already expressed an interest in the role, including Claudio Ranieri and former Arsenal defender Giovanni van Bronckhorst.