LONDON -- Jose Mourinho has said he is a better manager after 11 months away from football and is "humble" as he prepares to manage Tottenham.
Mourinho was appointed Tottenham head coach on Wednesday, hours on from the club announcing Mauricio Pochettino's sacking as manager. The move is his first step into management after he was sacked by Manchester United in 2018.
Asked whether he is a better manager after time away, Mourinho said: "I think so. You are what you are but I had time to think about many things.
"I realised that during my career, I made mistakes and I'm not going to make the same mistakes. I'm going to make new mistakes. I am humble. I am humble enough to analyse my career, and the problems. There was no one else to blame.
"These last 11 months have been used to think and to prepare. You never lose your DNA. You are what you are -- for the good things and the bad things. I know in my career that I've made mistakes.
"Happiness-wise I am convinced my choice was a great one. [On a scale of one to 10]? 10.
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"I'm nobody to advise people but to have a break was very positive for me. Having the first summer where I didn't work was not good for me. I was a bit lost. But it was good for me. I even learned how to be a pundit."
Mourinho's first match is away at West Ham on Saturday and he added: "I had a feeling I was going to get a club midseason. I knew I would be in a situation where I would get only one or two days before my first game. I cannot come here and think it is about myself. It is about the players and going from a base of stability."
On player transfers and whether the club will be active in the transfer market in January, the Tottenham head coach said he does not expect to be busy, nor does he envisage turning Tottenham's season around to such an extent that they re-enter the title race.
"The best gift are the players who are here. I don't need new players. I just need to get to know these ones better," he said.
"We can't win the Premier League this season. Next season, I'm not saying we will win it, but we can win it."
Mourinho also paid tribute to Pochettino and said the outgoing Tottenham boss will find another top job in management.
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"I have to speak about Mauricio," Mourinho said.
"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 will find happiness again. He will find a great club again. He will have a great future."
Meanwhile, Mourinho will not be bringing highly rated Lille sporting director Luis Campos to Tottenham.
Sources have told ESPN FC that Campos, a close friend of Mourinho, will definitely not be making the move to north London, despite the club's interest in him. Spurs have already made a raid on the Lille coaching staff for goalkeeping coach Nuno Santos and Joao Sacramento, who joined as Mourinho's new assistant head coach on Wednesday.
Carlos Lalin has been recruited as fitness coach, having previously worked with Mourinho at Chelsea, Manchester United and Real Madrid. Ricardo Formosinho and Giovanni Cerra have also joined the backroom staff in London as tactical analyst and technical analyst, respectively. Both have worked under Mourinho in the past.
Lille coach Christophe Galtier hit out at Mourinho for poaching his backroom staff and said: "Everyone has their own way of doing things," before adding sarcastically: "But it's really classy. Really classy to act like that."
Of Campos, Galtier added: "Luis is 200% invested in the project and I don't see a 1000th of a wish to look elsewhere. We're close and looking forward."