Barnsley Head Coach José Morais is excited for the challenge that lies ahead at Oakwell.
The Portuguese signed an 18-month contract with the Reds on Friday and believes there is plenty of potential not just in the team, but within the Club as a whole.
“I chose Barnsley because it is a challenge; I love challenges,” said Morais. "I like challenges and my way to live is challenging myself and challenging others to achieve what people think is possible and much more, and that’s the reason why I decided Barnsley because they are in a situation where I think the team needs help.
"Challenging yourself, challenging others; make things better and make things according to the passions you have in certain moments of your life. Like everyone else, we have passions and we want to live our life making sure that we did what we had to do for us to live the life that we wanted to live.
“The team needs to improve, the team needs to make things better and I realise that it’s a young team with potential, with quality and I’m coming here to build the belief that it’s nearer for the team and all of the club to reach the goal that is a big goal. The goal is to be stable in the league.”
Morais worked alongside José Mourinho at Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Chelsea before going onto managerial positions at Turkish side Antalyaspor and Greek outfit AEK Athens.
The 52-year-old still has a good relationship with the current Manchester United manager, who has already passed on his congratulations to the new Reds Head Coach.
“When you speak about the name you make me laugh because it’s just happiness,” continued Morais. "Jose is a friend that brings me in memory many great things, many fantastic moments, fantastic things and he is a fantastic coach, fantastic manager that I have, not the luck, the blessing of knowing and have been working together for many years.
“He was very, very pleased. He had an opportunity to chat with me saying that he was very pleased and wished me success.
“You always can use your friends in the moments that you need, so, if I need, I’m certain and sure that I will have all of them helping me.”
Prior to linking up with Mourinho at Inter, Morais had managed in his native Portugal, Germany, Sweden, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia.
The Reds Head Coach is confident in his ability to adapt to a senior position in English football and is looking forward to implementing his philosophy at Oakwell.
“I would say that I am more than a coach; I am a leader,” stated Morais. "I’m a coach with vision, not only about the way to play but a way to live and a way to believe and a way to make things greater, bigger, better. That’s the coach I am.
“I want to go from what they have and change things in a way that the players can understand. It means I want to change things in a simple way, progressive, and not make a radical thing in a short period. But in the 4-4-2 that we have, we will slowly increase changes to go to the path that I want, which is more 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3.”
“I definitely see Barnsley as a long project and this is the main reason that brought me here. It’s a project for 18 months at the moment and my belief in my thinking is much more than this.”
Morais was in attendance as the Reds fought from a goal down to claim a hard-earned point against Sheffield Wednesday in the South Yorkshire derby, and also made the trip to the Pirelli Stadium on Saturday as Burton Albion drew 0-0 with Nottingham Forest.
Barnsley host the Brewers on Tuesday evening in what will be Morais’ first game at the helm, and the Portuguese is confident of his preparation ahead of the clash.
“I think it’s the knowledge that any coach needs to compete in the league,” said Morais. "It's the knowledge about the players, about the systems, the organisations that can change every week according to the situation and the moment of the team and of the players.
"It’s the knowledge of someone that is studying opponents, understanding tactics and has been in football for many years.”
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