Report: Manchester United confident Mourinho will be in charge next season

Manchester United wants Jose Mourinho's stay with the club to be long term, and is apparently unconcerned about the manager's recent words which indicate he doesn't share that objective.

There has been speculation that Mourinho is unsettled in his second season at Old Trafford, and these rumours were reinforced when the decorated coach described Paris Saint-Germain as "special," and ruled out spending the rest of his career with United.

His relationship with the fans also appears fractured. He questioned their support when his substitution of Marcus Rashford against Tottenham Hotspur was met with boos, and also called for more backing from the terraces for Romelu Lukaku. The Manchester United Supporters' Trust then requested to meet Mourinho for clarification on his comments, but the two-time Chelsea handler declined the invitation.

Related: Mourinho declines invitation to meet supporters' trust over criticism

Despite these minor incidents, Mourinho's current employer believes he's still passionate about his role in Stretford, according to the Guardian's Jamie Jackson, and is focused on capturing the Premier League title. United would be open to him staying "a decade or more," and it's understood he's motivated by overhauling table-topping Manchester City, which is overseen by his old adversary Pep Guardiola.

To vanquish the gap between United and City - the latter currently holds an eight-point advantage atop the Premier League - Mourinho apparently wants more funds in the transfer market. Since taking over in 2016, he's spent £285 million on new players, and it's understood that he will have to offload before he's able to conduct business in the January window.