Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho insists the best is yet to come from his in-form side, and he plans to be around to see the fruit of his labour despite recent comments about a future back in England one day.
The former Chelsea boss talked about a possible return to the English Premier League in a "couple of years" during a BBC interview earlier this week, but in clarifying those comments Mourinho was adamant that did not mean he was looking to leave Madrid any time soon.
"You don't translate 'a couple of years' literally, it's an English expression to mean a few years, not exactly two. It could be two, three, four, 20, you never know," Mourinho, who signed an initial four-year deal when becoming Madrid coach in 2010, said on www.realmadrid.com.
"Everyone knows that I enjoyed being in England a lot and everyone knows that one day England will be a natural destination for me because in my career, which I hope will be 20 years or more, one day I will have to look for a destination," he added. "Now I'm not thinking about that because I'm at Real Madrid.
"I'm happy here and I want to continue. It's impossible to say the number of years that I'm going to stay, but what matters is the intention," he said. "I'm very happy and enormously proud to be coach of Real Madrid and I don't see the moment when I'm going to leave nor do I want to leave."
Having won the Copa del Rey in Mourinho's first campaign in charge, Madrid are in the hunt for more silverware this season and start the new year three points clear of Barcelona at the top of the Primera Division.
They also progressed through to the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League with a 100 per cent record while they are in the last 16 of the Copa del Rey as well. Ominously for opponents, Mourinho believes the best of his Madrid is yet to be seen.
"The best years of this generation are still to come, the best years of this team are still to come," he said. "The work being done is being done not only thinking about today but also of winning tomorrow. This project has many years ahead of it. The best is still to come and it wouldn't be very intelligent of me if I dedicated myself from the first day, giving my heart to this project, and then think about leaving midway through."
With his team looking good in all three competitions, Mourinho also said he is not looking for any additions during the January transfer window. Madrid have spent huge amounts building their squad over the last few years, but Mourinho is happy with the players currently at his disposal.
"We aren't in the market," said Mourinho. "The market is an opportunity that is open for those who need it, but fortunately we don't need it. The players are practically all fit to start the second half of the season. For us the market is closed. I don't want any player, I've not asked for any player nor am I going to ask."
