Reports from the British press have mentioned that Jose Mourinho could be on the verge of getting at least a 10-year contract extension from the Manchester United hierarchy. The man himself, however, doesn't expect that to happen. Instead, Mourinho is keen on sending a morale-boosting message to the Manchester United fans ahead of Christmas 2016.
READ: Boxing Day 2016 fixtures.
The fans of the club, er...may not be too pleased with the Portuguese gaffer's performance in the first half of the Premier League season. Although Mourinho's men have been undefeated since their previous eight games in the English top flight so far, benchmarks of Mourinho, well, remain benchmarks after all.
Remember, it has been the worst ever start to a Man Utd season in 27 years!
"[I want] To thank them [the Manchester United fans], because I know they believe in us," Mourinho told Sky Sports. "So there is no point in saying: 'Believe in us, give us time, we are going to do it.' I think they believe in us, I think they are together with the team, I never had bad matches or bad results at home and felt the people so supportive as they have.
"We are together, so just stay healthy and stay with us, 2017 will be better than 2016. I think we are really together. There is a sense of unity between us and the fans. I'm loving that feeling a lot."
The Boxing Day 2016 game against Sunderland on Monday is of major importance to Manchester United now if they want to finish among the top four at the end of the season. According to Mourinho, even a fourth place finish looks a below par performance.
"I think we can do better than fourth," the 53-year-old continued. "But we have the risk of not finishing fourth because the competition is so hard and the top teams have the same ambitions as we have. So I don't want to say fourth or third or fifth."
