London, United Kingdom: Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said on Sunday that he hopes to be back in work by July and described media speculation about his future as ‘lies’.

The Portuguese, 53, has been out of work since being sacked by Chelsea in December and has been repeatedly touted as a potential successor to under-fire Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal.

Without naming names, Mourinho said that he had rejected several offers of work since leaving Chelsea for the second time and is happy to wait until the end of the season before making his next move.

‘I was lucky enough to have good options since I left Chelsea in December,’ Mourinho told BT Sport.

‘Yes, I was lucky enough to have not just options, but good options, but I made a decision to wait calm in my corner, not disturbing, just waiting, reading a few lies, listen to a few lies.

‘The reality is that I want to work and normally July, mid-July, new pre-season starts and somewhere I want to be there.’