Jose Mourinho has compared himself to Harry Potter, suggesting being manager at Roma is “raising expectations” for what the club can achieve.
His side were knocked out of the Coppa Italia by rivals Lazio on Wednesday.
But Mourinho, who has lost four of six derbies in Rome, says supporters expect more from him because of his career.
“The Roma fans are the most incredible I have seen. Their coach is Jose ‘Harry Potter’ Mourinho and he raises expectations,” he said.
Mourinho’s comments were not the first time the former Chelsea and Manchester United boss, who joined Roma in 2021 after being sacked by Tottenham, has spoken about the fictional wizard.
He once told Real Madrid supporters “I am a coach, not Harry Potter” in a bid to lower expectations.
Roma are eighth in Serie A, four points off Fiorentina in the final Champions League qualifying spot.
The club have picked up just five points from their last five league matches but it was the defeat against Lazio that drew criticism.
“I don’t know how many derbies I’ve played, 200, 150, they are always special matches. I’ve won, I’ve drawn, I’ve lost, always with a different experience,” said Mourinho.
“I have always understood that for a Chelsea fan, a game against Manchester City is not the same as a game against Arsenal. That for Inter, a game against Roma is not the same as a game against Juventus. I understand what a derby means. The derby we played was an important derby.”
Roma have recovered from a poor start to the season, which saw the club pick up just five points from their first six Serie A matches.
Mourinho, who is out of contract at the end of the season, said he was fully committed to the club.
“I’ve been here for two years and five months and I’m the only person here who hasn’t missed a single training session in that time,” he said.
“For me there are no illnesses or bad moods. For two and a half years I haven’t done anything wrong, not even a couple of weeks ago when everyone was sick.
“I do not accept in any way that my professionalism and dignity, my heart for this job, can be questioned. If there is a perfect example of professionalism, it is me. I have never missed one match in over 20 years of my career.”
