London - In just a few months at Old Trafford, Jose Mourinho
has been dismissed from the touchline and fined for his conduct as his side
endured a poor start to the season - yet the Portuguese is still enjoying being
Manchester United manager.
With 15 points from 10 Premier League games, the former
Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid coach has made a worse start to the
league campaign than David Moyes did in his only season in charge.
Moyes, who picked up 17 points from the opening 10 games of
the 2013-14 season, was sacked before the end of that campaign.
Mourinho endured a torrid homecoming at Chelsea last month
as United were beaten 4-0 while Saturday's 0-0 draw at home to Burnley marked a
fourth league game without a win.
Mourinho's dismissal from the dugout against Burnley and his
refusal to fulfill his post-match media duties added to speculation that the
Portuguese was not enjoying his time at United.
"Of course I'm still excited, I'm not happy with the
results but I'm happy with performances," Mourinho said on Wednesday ahead
of their Europa League group game at Fenerbahce.
"The worst feeling is not when you have bad results,
it's when you feel bad about the players. I have the opposite feeling. I have a
very good feeling towards the players.
"After Chelsea, the team reacted in an unbelievable
way. The number of shots we had in the last match (against Burnley) was
something incredible. It's an example of how much the team tried to get a
different result."
Mourinho, who was banned from the touchline for one match
and fined £58 000 for two separate incidents of misconduct last month, declined
to comment on the FA charge.
However, he was happy to discuss bringing Bastian
Schweinsteiger back into the fold after forcing the German World Cup winner to
train with the reserves all season.
"Looking at Bastian and the way he is working
professionally every day with the fitness coach we think it's a human decision,
a professional decision to bring him back to the team," Mourinho said.
"He will be much better prepared and in condition in
case his future decision to leave the club... If he stays with us he becomes
one more option."
Schweinsteiger did not travel with the squad to Turkey for
Thursday's match, nor did Antonio Valencia following surgery on a broken arm.
United are second in Europa League Group A on six points, level with leaders Feyenoord.