Spurs ‘not brave enough’
PIERRE-EMILE HOJBJERG questioned Tottenham’s bravery as they lost ground at the top of the Premier League, while Jose Mourinho bemoaned missed chances and a lapse at the back. ‘Very disappointing,’ said Hojbjerg after Ivan Cavaleiro earned Fulham a draw. ‘We have to do better in a couple of aspects of the game. More bravery, more focus in terms of organising the team and being solid as a team. That doesn’t mean you have to stand in your own box and defend, it means the team is compact, the team is close to each other. I had a chance, I had to score. There are many details we must do better. ‘I’m happy there is a game in three days so we can show a reaction, show we are better than this. We’re ready to go again, and heads are high. ‘There’s a long way to go. We’re still very ambitious. We’re still very solid and very hungry as a team. We’ll keep going.’ Mourinho was not surprised to see Scott Parker field a strong Fulham team despite only receiving confirmation of this fixture at 9.30am on Monday. Aleksandar Mitrovic was the only notable absentee. Tottenham should have played at Aston Villa but they have a Covid outbreak and the Premier League rearranged the game against Fulham, postponed last month, when the virus hit Parker’s team. ‘I truly believe and I have to believe that we are dealing with honest people at Fulham,’ said Mourinho. ‘Of course they had problems and when we didn’t play the (original) game when we should have, there were reasons. ‘The reason they did not want to play tonight is a different question. But in the football world it is difficult to keep secrets, somebody knows somebody and tells somebody and we knew a few days ago they would be ready. Mitrovic was not a Covid situation, it’s a small injury.’ Mourinho claimed on the eve of the game Fulham should apologise if they fielded a strong team after complaining. ‘I don’t have to apologise for anything,’ said Parker. ‘I’m very proud of this team after all we’ve been through.’