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What We’ve Learned About Mourinho’s Tottenham

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What We’ve Learned About Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur Since the Return of the Premier League

 

What We’ve Learned About Mourinho’s Tottenham

Spurs look much more like a ‘Jose Mourinho’ team than what they did before the unprecedented three month break.

Having lost Harry Kane, Son Heung Min and Moussa Sissoko in the space of a month, the Lillywhites looked like a spent force which saw them lose away to Chelsea and thrown out of both the FA Cup and Champions League in the same week.

 

Organisation

But with those big stars returning from injury, Spurs look far more settled. Despite the scoreline ending in a 1-1 draw, Tottenham were unlucky against Manchester United.

Defensively Spurs look the best they have in months, as opposed to the embarrassing defensive performances during the heavy defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League, as well as Brighton’s 3-0 triumph over the then Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino.

As their first win in months showed, a 2-0 victory over West Ham last week, Tottenham look far more organised than they did before the break.

Eric Dier

Dropping Eric Dier into central defence has been key to this success. The ageing Jan Vertonghen has seen a variety of defenders play the left side of the two centre backs, but none have quite done the job.

Dier has now had two very consistent games since the restart and has partnered well with the pace of Davinson Sanchez, who had been on the bench for most of this season, with Toby Alderweireld chosen on almost every occasion.

 

The 26 year-old’s ability to carry the ball out from the back into midfield has added another dimension to the Spurs defence.

It’s been widely reported that Mourinho wants to settle the defence before introducing more creative midfield players such as Tanguy NDombele on a regular basis and Dier has been key to this.

 

Harry Kane

Tottenham’s first return game against Manchester United on 19th June was the England captain’s first game back after sustaining a hamstring injury six months ago.

He had a questionable game against the Red Devils, the 26 year-old did not look match fit and was totally marked out of the game by United’s defence.

However, after criticism from Sky Sports’ and Arsenal legend Paul Merson, Mourinho hit back and proclaimed that Harry Kane will have no problem scoring for his team.

And just like that, Kane returned to the scoresheet on his 200th appearance for Spurs to give his boyhood club a 2-0 victory over London rivals West Ham.

This will do wonders for his confidence and I don’t think it would be a shock if he nets a goal or two against Sheffield United this week, as they are they only Premier League team he has played against where he hasn’t scored.

 

 

That Winning Mentality

It was reported on Spurs TV that the Tottenham boss told his troops at half time that if they don’t win against West Ham they can kiss goodbye to Champions League football next season. Leaders within the team have also said that the Portuguese has told them to treat these remaining games as nine cup finals, where his team simply cannot afford to lose.

Jose is known for his winning mentality; the famous ‘three times’ celebration and his record of 25 trophies to his name speaks for itself. His predecessor, Pochettino, drilled the ‘do or die’ attitude into Tottenham; something which he learned from fellow Argentine Marcelo Bielsa.

 

But the Special One will look to build on that and it’s already showing. A convincing second half performance last Tuesday saw Spurs claim six points from West Ham this season; vital ingredients in the quest for Champions League football.

Who knows what lies ahead for Tottenham Hotspur and with the financial implications of the Coronavirus, Spurs need to qualify for the Champions League in order to fund Mourinho’s war chest needed to push on next season.

 

We hope you enjoyed this article ‘What We’ve Learned About Mourinho’s Tottenham’. Where do you think Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham will finish this season? Let us know!

 

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Tottenham Hotspur Correspondent. Head Coach of Journo FC. DM on Twitter for enquiries.

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