JOSE BITES BACK OVER RIVALS’ DIG
JOSE MOurinhO has accused Arsenal of revelling in Tottenham’s downfall because ‘ they don’t have much to celebrate’, adding that he wants his club to think bigger than the north London rivalry.
Mourinho fanned the flames after a tongue-in-cheek social media post by Arsenal last week.
Following Tottenham’s Premier League loss to Sheffield united, Arsenal posted highlights of their FA Cup quarter-final victory over Chris Wilder’s side to their 38 million Facebook followers.
The caption read: ‘it’s not easy beating Sheffield united at Bramall Lane. here’s a reminder of how it’s done.’
Tottenham face Arsenal this Sunday and Mourinho, whose side host Everton tonight, said: ‘if they were top of the league or fighting for top four and in a really good moment, they wouldn’t enjoy the problems of others.
‘You only enjoy the problems of others when you are also in trouble. So i think in the end it’s a little more about that. They don’t have much to celebrate, so they have to take any opportunity to do it. They are in a very similar situation to us in the table.
‘i don’t like to connect the club with such posts or tweets because probably the person who did it did it by himself. i don’t believe it was (Mikel) Arteta who posted it — probably it was some guy who has been working from home for three months. no problem, at home we will be waiting for them!’
Mourinho was also asked whether finishing above Arsenal, whose win over Wolves on Saturday leaves them four points ahead in the Premier League, is important to him.
Arsenal fans notoriously celebrate ‘St Totteringham’s Day’ — when Spurs can no longer catch them in the table — but Mourinho says he does not want that to be his side’s focus.
‘To be honest, to be the champions of north London means nothing to me,’ said Mourinho. ‘ You must be bigger than that and have more ambition than that.’ Mourinho, who could be without Dele Alli tonight because of a hamstring issue, added he wants to see more desire from his players after being shocked by their performance at Bramall Lane. But Everton are not easy opponents. There has been a noticeable change in their attitude since Carlo Ancelotti took charge and they could yet sneak a place in Europe. The italian believes another win, to follow last week’s 2-1 triumph over Leicester, is imperative if they are to achieve that goal. Ancelotti’s appointment was a statement by Farhad Moshiri, Everton’s major shareholder. And the arrival of a man who has won all there is to win has, according to captain Seamus Coleman, made it impossible for the squad to blame anyone other than themselves if they do not progress. Coleman is mindful that Everton haven’t beaten one of the Big Six away from home since December 2013 — they have lost 27 of those 39 fixtures — and knows Ancelotti will not tolerate that record. ‘You don’t want to speak after a good few games saying, “Ah, we are doing well” — i want us to be consistent,’ said Coleman. ‘i want the club to challenge for Champions League places. Carlo Ancelotti (left) has not put pen to paper on a contract at this club to be with a mid-table team. ‘he wants to be successful. i really hope and believe that can be the case.’