JOSE MOURINHO today declared it would be impossible for him to match Sir Alex Ferguson's haul of 13 Premier League titles.

The self-proclaimed Special One led Chelsea to his third Premier League title with Sunday's 1-0 defeat of Crystal Palace.

Fergie was 51 when he steered Manchester United to the inaugural Premier League title in 1992/93; Mourinho is 52 and has this season's trophy to go along with the 2004/05 and 2005/06 wins from his first spell.

"I have a long way to go, but Sir Alex left the bar in an impossible position for anyone. I cannot win 13 Premier Leagues," Mourinho said. "I can win 13 championships. I can. I have eight. But 13 Premier Leagues ... no, no chance."

Mourinho needs five more championships to reach 13, after two wins with Porto in Portugal, two with Inter Milan in Italy and one with Real Madrid in Spain, plus his three with Chelsea.

Asked if he planned on staying in England long enough to reach that target here, Mourinho added: "When I came back, I put myself in (Chelsea owner Roman) Abramovich's hands. My family is super happy to be here, so I have nothing to push me away from England. It's up to him. When he wants me to stay I stay, when he thinks its the right moment for me to leave I'll go somewhere else."

The Premier League came in for plenty of criticism this season when Chelsea followed Manchester City and Arsenal in being knocked out of the Champions League before the quarter-final stage.

But Mourinho insisted the overall standard of the English top flight remained higher than that on the continent.

"Sometimes I laugh when people compare a few numbers from different leagues and I can laugh because I was in all of these leagues," he said. "But when you see a 7-0 or a 6-0 in Germany, in Italy, in Spain, people don't know the difference between the top teams and the other teams. In England this is the reality, even for the top teams to win is very difficult.

"To do what my boys did is amazing. To lose on the first of January, a heavy defeat in a London derby (5-3 to Tottenham) and be with the same points as Man City, and since January not one defeat, to go to from same number of points (as Man City) to 10, 13 15 points (clear)... We know what we had to do for this."

That achievement was not universally applauded with Chelsea being branded 'boring' not only by rivals fans but also some pundits - a view which left Mourinho baffled.

"It doesn't bother me - it doesn't change me," he said of the criticism. "I'm stronger than that. I know that it takes to be in the position we are. It doesn't affect me. I think the players deserve more.

"I think it's a bit strange. Normally a pundit with a higher voice is the pundit that comes from the pitch - a former player, a legend, somebody that was a fantastic player, so somebody who has a complete understanding of what it takes. It's strange when these people don't go in the direction they should go."

Mourinho was able to defend the first title he won with Chelsea a decade ago, but warned against making any assumptions for next year, with the priority being to secure a top-four berth.

"When I meet my board I used to say, especially at the beginning of the season, if you want to be in the top four you have to think about being champions because to be in the top four in this moment in England is really hard," he said.

"Always there's a big risk of a big team to stay out. Man United stayed out last season, this season it's Man United, Liverpool ... they are on the limit and why not us next season? We must be very strong again."