Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho has defended his decision to live in a hotel during his stint as Manchester United manager.

The Portuguese returns to Old Trafford for the first time since his December 2018 dismissal when his new club Spurs visit on Wednesday night.

Mourinho was fired almost 12 months ago after a poor start to the season, which was fuelled by a fractious dressing room amid a fallout with Paul Pogba.

The 56-year-old, who had led United to a second-place finish in the season where winners Manchester City recorded 100 points, received criticism for his stay at the Lowry Hotel in Salford.

But he has defended it, saying it was far better than the alternative.

‘You know how I would be unhappy? I would be unhappy if I was in a house on my own,’ he said.

‘I would have to clean, I don’t want. I would have to iron, I don’t know how to. I have to cook, I would cook fried eggs and sausages – that’s the only thing I can do.

‘I would be very unhappy. I lived in an amazing apartment, it was not a room. It was mine all the time.

‘It was not like after one week I had to leave.

‘No, it was mine. I left everything there, I had my television, my books, my computer. It was a flat, with, “Bring me a coffee latte, please”, or “I don’t want to go down for dinner, bring my dinner up.”

‘I was watching football or doing work with one of my assistants, I would ask, “Bring us food.”

‘I had everything, if I was in an apartment alone it would be much more difficult. I was fine, more than fine.’

Mourinho has not spoken out on the manner of his dismissal at Old Trafford and has continued to keep his counsel in the buildup to Wednesday’s game, where he could pile further pressure on his successor, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Instead, he has talked only of how he has studied his time at the club in a bid to learn.

‘I did the best I could. Of course, I analyse it, I met my assistants, we analyse everything, when we analyse it, was in a very positive, constructive way,’ he said.

‘I forbid them to in the analysis to blame anyone else but us. Focus on us. Don’t focus on the club, don’t focus on the players, focus just on us.

‘What could we do better, what can we do better in the future, where we have to improve. It was very constructive.

‘The point is you win or you learn, you don’t lose. So I feel that. It was good because I managed to win something, some nice thing and do some nice things.

‘On the opposite side, I learned and I think I’m a better coach now than when I was there.

‘They are decisions that the clubs make and as managers we have to, we just have to accept.

‘From my experience, especially this one now, the important thing is that, after you’re sacked, you don’t blame anyone.

‘You try to understand why, you try to understand what you could do better, try to prepare better for the future by analysing what happened in the past. That is what happened with me.’

When Mourinho signed on at Spurs, who he has guided to three wins from his first three games, he also agreed to become part of the Amazon All or Nothing documentary.

The Portuguese has also revealed that he did some work for Netflix before joining the club.

He said, mischievously taking into his microphone: ‘But Amazon guys, they cannot know.’

‘I’m doing also an episode for Netflix, it’s true. Eight coaches of eight different sports.

‘I’ve filmed it already, I don’t know when it comes out.

‘My part is done. NBA, F1, tennis, NFL, rugby, not cricket!’