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Mourinho not interested in Newcastle project

Cape Town - Jose Mourinho has appeared to play down reports he could be set to succeed Rafael Benitez as Newcastle United manager.

Benitez will officially leave St James' Park when his contract expires at the end of this month after terms could not be agreed over extending his stay.

Whoever does succeed the 59-year-old will certainly have big shoes to fill and a whole host of managers have been linked with the position, including Mourinho, who has been out of work since leaving Manchester United at the end of last year.

The Portuguese would represent something of a coup if the Newcastle hierarchy were able to entice him to Tyneside as he also counts Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid among his list of former clubs.

However, it seems the 56-year-old has now distanced himself from such speculation by suggesting his next role will be with a team challenging for major honours, rather than one fighting in the middle of the table.

"The only thing that I know is what I don't want: I am quite pathological in the sense of I have to play to win," Mourinho told The Coaches' Voice.

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

"If somebody gives me a wonderful 10-year contract and the objective of the team is to stay in the first half of the table, and if you finish seventh, eighth or ninth, it's perfect, then that's not for me. That's my nature."

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