Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has promised to control his emotions when the Red Devils face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday (23 October). The 53-year-old Portuguese was sacked by the Blues last season after losing nine of his opening 16 games of the campaign –but Mourinho has insisted he still holds his former club in high regard.

Mourinho won three Premier League titles during two spells at Chelsea and despite his sacking, has admitted to retaining an affection for the club's fans. Consequently, Mourinho has pledged to behave himself in the away dugout.

"I have for life, an amazing empathy with the supporters, the supporters didn't change their relationship with me because of last season and a couple of months of bad results," the United manager explained, according to The Times. "I keep all these good memories."

Mourinho revealed he has already made a conscious decision to keep his celebrations in check, even if United triumph at Stamford Bridge. Mourinho said, too, that he will try to keep his affection for Chelsea at the back of his mind before and during the much-anticipated game.

"We have to try to forget it. We have to try and do the job," the United manager reflected. "If you ask me if my team score a goal am I going to celebrate like a crazy kid, no. I have the maturity enough to control the emotion. I have lots of respect."

What's more, Mourinho insisted that regardless of his sacking, his career with forever be interwoven with the history of Chelsea. "I gave Chelsea titles, I gave to the fans some of the best moments, so then you leave with a feeling of 'I did my job'. That was the feeling," the United boss shared. "I don't think they want [to], but even if they did, they couldn't delete me from Chelsea Football Club history."