‘I EXPECT HIGHEST TARGETS’

JOSE MOURINHO insists that he can live with the expectation that he will transform Manchester United back into champions.

United’s American owners expect much more than a return to the top four and the Champions League after sanctioning Mourinho to break the world transfer record to bring Paul Pogba back to Old Trafford.

It is thought Pogba (above) will be joining United within the next 48 hours after Old Trafford agreed the final details in his £100million move.

But he has been ordered to rejoin his Juventus team-mates tonight for pre-season training from tomorrow.

The move will take Mourinho’s spending crashing through the £150million barrier following the captures of Eric Bailly and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Mourinho has also been allowed to recruit Zlatan Ibrahimovic on a free transfer that will cost the club £300,000 a week in wages.

And the United boss admitted: “It is not new in my career. Everywhere I’ve been I’ve had to cope with that situation. It doesn’t matter where I am, everyone expects big things. It’s nothing new for me. I like to create that expectation.

“Sometimes during my career I’ve created some unrealistic targets, but, by creating these, you push the team to unexpected levels.

“To win the Champions League with Porto or Inter is unexpected and a very risky objective target. To win championships in the first season is a little bit of the same, but I like that.

“People analyse it as arrogant and so on – that’s not a problem for me.

“The reality is I always feel for players, managers, clubs that this kind of establishment of very difficult targets can only help us.”

Pogba’s return to United is so close that he has already posed for official publicity pictures wearing the club’s new shirt on holiday in New York.

Mourinho kicks off with a Community Shield clash with champions Leicester today.

And after paying tribute to Claudio Ranieri – whom he replaced at Chelsea 12 years ago – for winning the title last season, he followed the praise up with a dig at the Foxes boss.

Mourinho said: “I think only the fan who bet and made all that money was the only one that believed!

“Let’s not be hypocrites, I don’t think any one of us would think about it.

“But I have my career and Claudio has his career.

“Ask him if he would change his career with mine. I wouldn’t change mine with his, but it was an unbelievable achievement, of course.”