Tottenham players privately slamming Jose Mourinho behind the scenes ahead of Aston Villa

Tottenham: Jose Mourinho reacts to Zagreb defeat

When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters.Sometimes they’ll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer.Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights.You can unsubscribe at any time.

Tottenham players have criticised Jose Mourinho behind the scenes, according to reports. The 58-year-old is under pressure ahead of the club’s Premier League clash with Aston Villa on Sunday. And though Daniel Levy is backing him for now, that stance could change if they slump to another loss.

Tottenham recently won five games on the trot to keep Mourinho in a job.

However, after recent defeats to Arsenal and Dinamo Zagreb in the Premier League and Europa League, he’s back in the firing line.

Tottenham are unwilling to sack Mourinho just yet but the 58-year-old is facing a huge fight to stay in charge, with links to Brendan Rodgers and Julian Nagelsmann ongoing.

And the Independent say Spurs players, behind the scenes, are criticising Mourinho.

Some have claimed training under the former Manchester United and Chelsea boss is as ‘basic as they’ve ever seen’.

THINK YOU KNOW SPORT? Test your sporting knowledge with our tricky quiz

And others have suggested Mourinho’s continuous criticism behind the scenes has dented their confidence – something that echoes of years gone by.

In his prime, the Tottenham boss was regarded as one of the best man-managers of his generation.

But Mourinho has lost his swagger and, in recent years, has failed to coax the best from his players.

At Chelsea he lost the dressing room with his brutal approach to management upsetting members of the squad at Stamford Bridge.

And in his war with Paul Pogba at Manchester United, both the players and hierarchy decided to back the France international instead.

DON’T MISS

Alex Telles ‘to be used in Man Utd swap deal’

Chelsea may have signed perfect Haaland partner

Lionel Messi’s Barcelona anger explained

Tottenham players also aren’t happy with Mourinho’s methods, believing them to be too negative and outdated.

And whether Spurs can bounce back from their recent European heartache against Aston Villa on Sunday remains to be seen, with that game likely to have a big impact on their campaign.

Meanwhile, speaking ahead of that game, Mourinho has challenged his side to pick up all three points.

Asked what he was looking for from his team against Villa, he said: “That’s the same question as after the game against Arsenal and I didn’t see it against Zagreb, what I wanted to see.

“So it’s hard to say because I was expecting a completely different attitude and we didn’t get that (at Zagreb).

“Obviously, what do I want against Aston Villa? I want all the ingredients that I told to some of the previous questions.

“They are what I consider the basics of an honest professional. It doesn’t matter about the area. At the moment we’re speaking about football but we could be speaking about any other area in society.

“The basics of any job is honesty, the commitment, the desire, the respect for the people who require you to do a good work. That’s what I expect to have every day, every match.”

Mourinho also refused to open up on the lack of leaders within Tottenham’s squad.

“To speak about leaders on the pitch is something that makes me a little bit uncomfortable,” he added.

“It’s something that belongs to us, to the dressing room, to the life of us as a working group. Of course from the outside you can have your perspective, you can analyse it and probably with your experience and knowledge you can draw some conclusions but I’m not going in that direction.

“The reason why we lost the game in Zagreb was because for 100 minutes or so, one team put absolutely everything on that pitch and another team only felt the pride and let’s say a motivation to fight when the result was already 3-0.

“Yes, in these 10 minutes we could and should, we had the chances to go through. But they beat us on heart and another thing that I refuse to say in front of the cameras.

“But when you lose on that, as a professional you have to feel very, very hurt and this is the way I feel. I’m not just sad, and I’m happy to be a guy with lots of experience and emotional control because I can control what I feel in this moment, at least in front of the cameras.”

Source: Read Full Article