ROME, July 8 — Jose Mourinho insisted he is not in Italy for a holiday when he was presented as AS Roma coach today, underlining that he wants to build sustainable success for the club rather than rushing towards ending their trophy drought.

The former Tottenham manager was named as Paulo Fonseca’s successor at the end of last season after Roma finished seventh in Serie A and failed to end their 13-year wait for silverware.

“In football the word ‘time’ sometimes does not exist, but in this case it does and that is fundamental,” Mourinho told a news conference.

“The club does not want success today and problems tomorrow, but a sustainable project for the future. That is the main reason I am here. Now it is time to work. I am not here on holiday.”

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Mourinho’s appointment was met with euphoria by Roma fans, who hope that the man who led Inter Milan to a stunning treble in 2009-10 can bring them back to the top of Italian football and end a trophy drought stretching back to the 2007-08 Coppa Italia.

“We can’t get away from the fact that this club has not won a lot in recent times. Last season we finished 29 points behind the league leaders and 16 points off the top four, we need to find answers to these questions,” he said.

“Be it owners, sporting director ... they know better than me how much work there is to do, but we will try to lift silverware. It’s not a case of necessarily coming in and winning immediately.”

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While it would be easy to promise a title, time and hard work was needed, he added. “The owners do not want isolated success, they want to reach that level and stay there. That is much harder to achieve. We want to be financially sustainable and we are on the same page.”

Mourinho was sacked by Tottenham in April, a week before their League Cup final defeat to Manchester City. The manager defended his record after facing some criticism in England during his time with Spurs, Manchester United and Chelsea.

“In my last three clubs, I won Premier League with Chelsea, three cups with United, reached a League Cup final with Tottenham. What is considered a disaster for me is what other coaches have never achieved in their lives,” he said. — Reuters