Jose Mourinho has insisted that he has more hunger than ever to manage, saying he misses being on the sidelines.
Mourinho was sacked by Manchester United in December, two-and-a-half years into a three-year contract at Old Trafford.
The Portuguese has been linked with jobs in Italy and France among other countries since then, but has yet to land a new managerial position.
At 56 and having won two Champions Leagues and eight league titles spread out over four countries, Mourinho could be forgiven for no longer having the same passion for management.
But instead, when asked if his desire to coach is still the same, Mourinho replied to Eleven Sports Portugal: "No, now I have more. I haven't eaten in five months. I haven't eaten football in five months.
"Now obviously I have more. I haven't suffered because I don't have my football, because I don't train, because I don't play. I'm not in the situation of watching a football match on TV and turning it off because I don't want to see anything.
"I have perfect control of my emotions. But it's an important part of my life and obviously I miss it."
Though his desire is still there, Mourinho insists he will not rush into any position and will instead be patient and find the right project.
"Winning a different fifth championship or winning a Champions League for a different third club are things I'd like to do, but I don't go there much," Mourinho said.
"I'm going more for convincing myself of a project. I want to go happy. I don't want to go with one foot in front and one foot behind.
"So I'm absolutely calm. If not now, it will happen later. If I don't have what makes me happy, I’m not going.
"I think I've earned the right to think like that. I've earned the right to say that I only go when I think I should."
Mourinho has only managed at the club level during his career, and he says that he still has the desire to one day manage a national team.
"It's something I've always lacked," Mourinho said of a national team job. "It's something I'd like to do. Not only Portugal, but also the work of a national team.
"It's something I've never wanted until now and I'm still not at this moment in my career, in love with that kind of work. But it's a job I'll want to try one day."
