Grabbing Nemanja’s a delight for Jose

THE Special One will be delighted to unleash his own Special One in a Manchester United shirt.

Jose Mourinho admits that Nemanja Matic was the “perfect” type of defensive midfield player he coveted when he took over at Old Trafford 15 months ago.

But the United boss thought that was the impossible dream – until a surprise phone call told him that he had finally got his man.

Matic, 29 and an impressive 6ft

4ins tall, wanted to leave Stamford Bridge and join his Theatre of Dreams revolution.

And Mourinho, not one for letting emotions crack his dour exterior, could not hide his delight at signing Matic from his old club Chelsea for

£40million.

Now, with Matic on board and Mourinho happy that his own DNA is stamped on things throughout the club, the Portuguese Man of War cannot wait for the Premier League and Champions League battles to start.

Mourinho’s mission is clear – to add to his three trophies captured in an impressive debut season at Old Trafford.

He said: “When I joined Manchester United last year I thought immediately thought we needed a Matic kind of player.

“There are not many, there are just a couple. Yes, I thought that.

“But I was not thinking of him because I never go to players who I think are the impossible mission.

“And I felt that there was no chance this could happen.

“When this season I got the call that Matic wants to play for me, wants to play for Manchester United and he can make it happen, I thought he’s the perfect player for me.

“Not just for his qualities but also for my relationship with him. The way I know him and the way he knows me.

“He’s one of those players where there are no question marks.

“He doesn’t need time to adapt. He’s not a young guy who comes from another country. He’s not somebody who needs to learn all about the Premier League.

“He’s a player who was 29 last week with five years in the Premier League or so. Lots of experience. He’s one of those players who gives me what I like in a player, which is consistency.

“It’s the way I trust the player is going to perform so I think it’s a fantastic signing for us.”

Mourinho delivered his Matic verdict in his usual deadpan fashion in the pre-match press conference ahead of hosting West Ham this afternoon.

But there was an optimism about the season which the Old Trafford boss found difficult to hide. Asked if Manchester

United was his team now, he did not hesitate to agree.

He said: “In many things, it is.

“We have a football club much better equipped and much better organised in the areas which support the first-team squad.

“We are much better organised at every level.

“The medical department is better and we are also much stronger as a team in the analysis department.

“I feel the club is much better so we go for it this season. We are going to try to win the title.

“We are going to try to give a hard fight to the top teams in

Europe in the Champions

League.

“The thing I have is to work every day like I do. It’s the only thing which I demand of myself. That I give everything.

“And then normally the results are a good consequence of that work.

“My dedication to my job is always the maximum even more so than when I started.

“That’s my aim and at the end of the season we will see the results.”