Jose Mourinho says he has used the last eleven months to think and prepare and he feels he's now a better manager after spending time away from the game.

He's been speaking to the media for the first time as Tottenham manager ahead of Saturday's Premier League trip to West Ham.

Mourinho was unveiled as Mauricio Pochettino's successor yesterday, having been out of work since December of 2018:

"I always thought that these 11 months were not a waste of time," said the 56-year-old

"They were months to think, to analyse, to prepare. You never lose your DNA, you never lose your identity, but I have time to think about many things. During my career I have made mistakes.

"I am stronger, I am relaxed, I am motivated, I am ready and I think the players felt that in two days. I am ready to support them, this is not about me. It is about the club. I am here to try and help everyone.

"In relation to the difficulty of the job, every time a club changes in mid-season it is because the situation is not good, that is obvious, unless something strange happened that we don't know outside," he said.

"Results make these decisions. I don't have a great experience of getting teams in mid-season, it is only the second time I have done it. I did it in Porto in 2001, but I thought about it for the last few months because I thought I was going to get a team in mid-season."

The Portuguese coach also spoke about his predecessor Mauricio Pochettino, who was sacked this week with the north London side sitting 14th in the Premier League:

"I do it with a bit of sadness but I have to speak about Mauricio.

"I have to congratulate him for the work he has done. This club will always be his home. This training ground will always be his training ground. The door will always be open for him.

"He can come when he wants. When he miss the players, when he miss the people he work with. The door is always open for him.

"He will find happiness again. He will find a great club again. He will have a great future."