Marco Silva to put friendship with Jose Mourinho on hold when Watford take on Manchester United: 'When we play against one another I want to win'
- Watford take on Manchester United at home in the Premier League on Tuesday
- Marco Silva oversaw Hull's 2-1 League Cup victory over United ten months ago
- Silva is being compared as the new 'Special One' ahead of Tuesday's fixture
- Watford vs United: Team news, likely line-ups, odds and stats from clash
Marco Silva will put his friendship with Jose Mourinho on hold when the Portuguese coaches lock horns in Watford's Premier League clash with Manchester United.
Silva tests himself against the manager who recommended he accept an offer to take over as Hornets boss in May and to whom he is being compared as the new 'Special One'.
Ten months ago Silva masterminded Hull City's 2-1 League Cup victory over Mourinho's United and the 40-year-old has a similar outcome in mind at Vicarage Road on Tuesday night.
Marco Silva's Watford side take on Manchester United in the Premier League on Tuesday night
'This is a good opportunity for me to spend a little bit more time with him,' Silva said.
'Before the game I'm sure we will stay together and chat a bit. We'll talk a little bit with each other and once the match starts it is Watford against Manchester United.
'Our relationship is very good. We are friends. Okay, our life permits that you don't stay together many, many times, but he is a very good person.
'He stays in his fight and I stay in mine as well. He is doing his job and the time is not good to talk with each other - normally we exchange some texts.
Silva admits he has a 'very good' relationship with Jose Mourinho ahead of the fixture
'When we play against one another I want to win. I want to take a good result and of course Mourinho does as well.'
Silva accepts the comparison with Mourinho as a compliment and views his compatriot as a standard bearer for Portuguese managers.
'Mourinho has had a fantastic career until now and I'm sure in the future he will do well. I need to do my job and to build my career as well,' he said.
'It's important and a good sign when somebody compares you with a good coach. It is better to be compared with a very good coach than the other way around.
Silva's Watford side currently sit eighth in the Premier League after their opening 13 matches
'For Portugal, he is a very important coach and what he has done in the last 15 years is really important for him and also for other Portuguese coaches as well.'
Silva's success at Watford has seen him linked with the vacant manager's post at Everton, but he is reluctant to discuss the position.
'I can't talk about this situation. I'm the Watford manager. The only thing that is important for me is this match,' he said.
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