SPECIAL GONE
SPURS GIVE MOURINHO THE BOOT
TOTTENHAM sacked Jose Mourinho yesterday, less than a week before he was due to lead them out in the Carabao Cup final.
The 58-year-old paid the price for a miserable second half of the season which has seen Spurs sink from the top of the Premier League to outside the European places with little hope of Champions League qualification.
That became something of a moot point given Tottenham’s involvement in the controversial European Super League should the breakaway tournament materialise, but it is understood that played no part in the former Real Madrid, Manchester United and Chelsea manager’s exit.
Mourinho may feel sorry for himself as he was denied the chance of delivering the club’s first trophy in 13 years, with Spurs set to take on Manchester City at Wembley on Sunday.
He leaves with all his coaching staff except Ledley King, the former captain, now a defensive coach, who remains at the club.
Academy coach Ryan Mason took training yesterday, although it is not yet clear whether he will be in charge of tomorrow’s Premier League game at home to Southampton or for the final with City.
The decision to move on from Mourinho will have been a tough one for chairman Daniel Levy, who had long been an admirer of the Portuguese ever since his Chelsea days and was thrilled to finally bring him to north London in November 2019.
Levy spoke of his regret at firing Mourinho but his timing – the decision made after Friday’s 2-2 draw at Everton – was ruthless. He said: ‘Jose and his coaching staff have been with us through some of our most challenging times as a club.
‘Jose is a true professional who showed enormous resilience during the pandemic. On a personal level I have enjoyed working with him and regret that things have not worked out as we both had envisaged. He will always be welcome here and we should like to thank him and his coaching staff for their contribution.’
Spurs started well this season as Mourinho led them to the top of the table, but slumped after Christmas, falling out of contention while suffering an embarrassing Europa League exit to Dinamo Zagreb amid growing criticism of negative tactics.
The last few weeks contained all the hallmarks of a familiar Mourinho end game with stories of disgruntled players, spats with the media and a deflection from poor performances.
Mason, just 29, is expected to take charge of the first team until Spurs appoint a new permanent successor.
RB Leipzig’s Julian Nagelsmann, Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers and former Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe are the early favourites.