New Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho wants to take the club led by England striker Harry Kane to the next level by winning trophies and said he would love to stay in the job for at least as long as his predecessor Mauricio Pochettino.
The much-travelled 56-year-old Portuguese was appointed as Spurs head coach on Wednesday the day after Pochettino, who spent 5-1/2 years in charge of the north London club, was sacked with his team struggling in 14th place in the Premier League.
However, the Argentine fan-favourite failed to deliver any silverware despite having a squad full of internationals and that is something Mourinho is determined to change as he prepares for the trip to West Ham United on Saturday.
Asked if he had to keep hold of Kane to bring success to Tottenham he told a group of reporters at the club’s training ground: “When you try to buy Kane it’s an impossible mission. He’s one of the best strikers in the world.
“You just need his team — England or Tottenham — to go with him to the next level. What’s the next level? Titles.
“I think he needs to win with us, with England, he needs to win something to highlight the quality that he has as a player, the goals he scores, what he brings to the team.”
Kane, 26, has bagged 131 goals in 189 Premier League games for Spurs and has netted 32 in 45 matches for England.
“With the squad we have, with the quality of the structure of the club, we can have the same ambitions as clubs potentially bigger than us,” added Mourinho. “I don’t want my players to fear anything. We go for everything against everyone.”
The Portuguese coach usually never stays too long in one job and only in his first spell at Chelsea did he reach a fourth season, though he was sacked in September 2007 after six games.
However, he said he wanted to remain at Spurs for longer than that and would like to be there until he’s at least 61.
“I would love to stay for many years. I say ‘many years’ but I know realistically how football is, but I would like to… do a Mauricio (Pochettino), 5-1/2 years, it would be amazing. Maybe (this is) the last job (in England).”