THE SPECIAL GONE
Something is ‘ missing’ at Spurs... problem is, it could be Mourinho’s old magic touch
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LUCAS MOURA admits that something is absent at Spurs and the worrying thing is that it appears to be their manager.
Where is the Jose Mourinho who was a ‘ special one’?
The man who once claimed there was God and “after God, me” now accepts a massive injury list as if it were his fate.
Where is the fight and the self belief?
Spurs face Manchester United at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium looking for their first win against them since August 2018 when Mauricio Pochettino masterminded a 3- 0 win over a team managed by, you guessed it, Mourinho.
The Portuguese held up three fingers up in his press conference afterwards.
“Do you know what this is? 3- 0,” he said. “But it also means three Premierships I won – more alone than the other 19 managers in the Premier League together. So respect man, respect, respect,
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respect.” That is the beast Daniel Levy thought he was harnessing when he sacked Pochettino after five years of improvement, culminating in a Champions League final.
This Mourinho does not even seem able to stick up two fingers to anybody – not even to indicate the number of millions he is reported to have been promised as a bonus for getting Tottenham back in the Champions League.
Do not forget, that has always been the goal for the end of the first full season in the new stadium. Anything else that Pochettino achieved was just impressively premature. Spurs have nine games to reach their target and Mourinho seems to have run out of inspiration. After United, Arsenal and Leicester also have to come to Tottenham, while the rest of the run- in is against sides you would expect the old Mourinho to find a way past, whatever his resources.
Instead, he begs for a chance to reset for the new season in July with all his players fit again. So it is left to the dressing room to produce the battle cry. Dele Alli apologised
FBoss Jose Mourinho consoles Lucas Moura after Tottenham’s 3- 0 loss in Leipzig
to the fans after the 3- 0 defeat in Leipzig and Moura vowed to keep fighting.
“It’s a very difficult moment for us,” the Brazilian said. “But the only way we have is to keep fighting, keep believing.
“Now we have only the Premier League and need to be in a better position. Our objective is the Champions League next season. I believe it’s possible.
“What happened last season showed that we are a very good team, a very good club, that we have great players.
“I cannot tell you what happened in Leipzig – if it is about mentality, about confidence. But we know that something is missing.
“We know we need to be better. I don’t think there is a lack of confidence. We have good players, we have a good squad and we can do better.
“It is just something that is missing. We will find the winning way again.”