José Mourinho has played down suggestions that his fractious relationship with a number of players was to blame for his difficult spell at the helm of Manchester United.
The Portuguese coach spent two and a half seasons in charge of the Red Devils, but failed to recapture the Premier League title-winning glory he experienced during his time at Chelsea. While he led United to glory in the Europa League, FA Cup and League Cup in his first season at the club, things rapidly went downhill, culminating in his sacking last December.
Speaking about his turbulent time at Old Trafford to beIN Sports (via Goal), Mourinho said: "If you tell me that in the past season that I had some problems...I don't want to speak about (that) for obvious reasons. I will not deny to you that some factors had an influence in that the last period was not a good one.
"It's impossible to win trophies without a good relationship with players. What you need sometimes is to accelerate some process, what you need to be is to be a club man and to be a club man you need to forget yourself a little bit. I think I always did it, sometimes for the good of the immediate needs of the club and group.
"I put myself in situations that in the eyes of people from the outside are not the best position, but I don't regret that at all because I always give my all for the club."
Mourinho went on to rubbish suggestions that his personal issues with United players hampered their chances of success, stating: "It's not possible to win trophies without a good relationship with the players. In Real Madrid I won trophies, in Chelsea I won trophies, a lot of them, three Premier League trophies, which is a lot in England.
"In Manchester United I won trophies too, it's not possible to win trophies without good (player) relationships."
