SOCCER:Jose Mourinho's reinvention as the "mellow" man of the Premier League is likely to be welcomed by Rafael Benitez, Arsene Wenger and countless others.

Whether Alex Ferguson actually believed reports of Mourinho's new outlook as he paced through Macau's luxurious Venetian Hotel yesterday was difficult to gauge, but "about time" appeared to be the United manager's initial reaction.

"It's probably a good thing for him because he was getting himself into all sorts of difficulties." Ferguson said. "He's not stupid. I think he has realised that everything he tries is just for a reason and to suit himself."

Wenger has been subjected to Mourinho's ire on numerous occasions, being labelled a "voyeur" by the Chelsea manager in one unsavoury episode, while Benitez has had to endure the Portuguese's jibes about his team more than once.

Ferguson has escaped relatively unscathed, however, barring a brief spat with the then Porto coach in 2004 when the United manager refused to shake his rival's hand after a Champions League defeat when United were infuriated by the home team's spoiling tactics.

The men talk of sharing a love of red wine, but winning is what matters most to the pair of them, and, if Mourinho genuinely is preparing to button his lip from now on, there will be a reason for it and it is unlikely to have been a desire on his part simply to be nicer guy.

"I do like him, but maybe he has realised that everyone has cottoned on to it all and that it doesn't have the same impact," said Ferguson.

Ferguson has seen off almost every one of those managerial rivals brave enough to tackle him head on. Kenny Dalglish did not hang around at Blackburn after denying United the title in 1995, while Kevin Keegan infamously imploded as Newcastle manager after being rattled by Ferguson a year later.

Wenger has had his moments and he retains the ability to irk the United manager, but the two were not even on the same page last season. Mourinho has held the upper hand, but just as he appeared set to sound the death knell on Ferguson's empire, the old fighter hit back by guiding United to the championship and denying Chelsea a hat-trick of titles last term. Whether a new Mourinho will deny Ferguson a 10th title this season remains to be seen, but the Scot admits he is happy to see his Chelsea counterpart alter his approach.

He said: "I think the most important thing is that he has changed the way he does the publicity side before games and things like that and that's not a bad thing.

"He came over (from Porto) and brought a bit of colour and he did really well on the publicity side in his first year because he was brash and young and making all his comments and he endeared himself to a lot of people. There's no question about that. He caught the attention of the press and had them right where he wanted them, right by his side.

"None of it worries me, though. I'm quite happy for other people to get publicity. I've said time and again that my job is to keep us out of the press. That's my biggest job."

But Ferguson can probably thank Mourinho for providing the spark he needed to reignite United. Just as Chelsea began to prosper under their new coach two years ago, United appeared to be on a downward slope, with Arsenal looking the more likely long-term threat to the Roman Abramovich revolution at Stamford Bridge.

"I think we made decisions a couple of years ago about where we were going and the need to build a new team and that wasn't easy," Ferguson admitted. "When you've been there for 20 years, it's bound to happen. You have to rebuild.

"This is probably my fourth team - you could even say it's my fifth, but it's certainly my fourth - so there are moments when you have to make decisions regarding players' futures, which isn't easy because you get attached to them.

"It changes all the time when you've had players for so long. It happens. You have to make these decisions. You can't keep them forever and give them a pension.

"There comes a point where they have to move on. Sometimes you have to capitalise on their abilities and sell players and let them go."

Ferguson expects Arsenal to "improve" and Fernando Torres to offer Liverpool a new dimension this season: "They've (Arsenal) signed a right back, a midfielder and a striker, although I'm not sure about the striker (Eduardo da Silva) because I don't know too much about him.

"I don't think they'll suffer too much (without Thierry Henry) because they lost him in December. His time had gone and I think Arsene knew that."

Of Torres, Ferguson said: "He's good in the air and got physique. He's quicker than you think."