Jose Mourinho has spoken in defence of former Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who was recently dismissed from Turkish side Besiktas.

Mourinho, who is the manager of Turkish side Fenerbahce, was speaking to Turkish media about the influence of external pressures while working in the country – and pointed to van Bronckhorst's situation as the negative side of life in the Super Lig, stressing he himself needs time to achieve what needs done.

“You are still killing me," Mourinho told spor.haber7 (via RecordSport). "Give me some credit and give me time. Don’t do to me what was done to Giovanni van Bronckhorst.

"A coach cannot perform a miracle in 2-3-4 months. Van Bronckhorst was doing well. Not the results of the last period. Consistency is needed.

"So give me some time. Let me work in peace. I will enjoy it even if there is no peace.”

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As it stands, Mourinho's Fenerbahce are just three points off the top of the league behind frontrunners Galatasaray.

In the Europa League, Fenerbahce sit in 15th place in the competition's league-phase with eight points – two points and five places behind Rangers.

Besiktas, on the other hand, sit fifth in the league and 13 points behind top spot. In the Europa League, they are currently 22nd with six points.

Since leaving Besiktas, it has been reported that van Bronckhorst walked away with £4.5 million in severance pay, having been at the club for just six months.

The ex-Ibrox manager, and one-time Rangers played, was dismissed following a Europa League loss to Maccabi Tel-Aviv, which followed a run of four games without a win in the league.