C PALACE v TOTTENHAM
TODAY, KO 2.15PM
JOSE MOURINHO says age will be no barrier to his passion for bossing it at the top level.
In fact the Tottenham manager, 57, reckons he will be flying high when he is the same age as the man in the opposition dugout this afternoon – Roy Hodgson.
Spurs are flying high at the top of the table around a quarter of the way into the campaign and much of the credit for their turnaround has been placed at the feet of the Special One.
Today Mourinho is looking to continue that fine start as he takes his men across London to meet Hodgson’s Crystal Palace.
And with the smile back on his face, the Portuguese sees no reason why he won’t still be managing at a ripe old age like the Eagles boss, 73 3
(right) and another friend, Jesualdo
Ferreira (bottom) who took over at Boavista in the pair’s homeland last week.
Mourinho said: “I see it myself, yes. But who o knows?
“A big friend of mine got ot a job in the Portuguese e Premier League at the age of 74 on Thursday.
“A fantastic coach, incredible knowledge, incredible passion.
“I spoke to Jesualdo and he told me that everything is very stable e
– his family, his kids are very stable. His kids are not kids any more, of course. And he still wants to work, so let’s see what happens. “Maybe you are tired of me because I’m around for 20 years since 2000 when I got my first job – but the reality is that at the age of 57, for the job, for the nature of the job, I am very young.” There’s nothing like winning to keep a manager young and, with Spurs on a run of four victories in five in the Premier League, thing things are going we well.
Wins over North London rivals Arsenal and title rivals Manchester City were among that s sequence, as well as a dr draw with another side cha challenging for top spot in Mou Mourinho’s former club Ch Chelsea, and it is clear t that the ruthlessness he wanted is now coming through.
He added: “We are improving as a team, t that is not in doubt. “The type of mentality we need in the team, we are improving i step by step.”
ROY HODGSON says there are some stats that mean nothing at all in football.
The Crystal Palace manager, the oldest in the Premier League at the age of 73, said: “There are two statistics that everyone really, if not ignoring them, certainly does not take seriously, at least within the world of coaching, and one is possession. The other one is shots on goal, or shots on target. Those two stats to me mean nothing at all.”