WINKS SPURRED INTO GEAR BY JOSE CHAT

HARRY WINKS says a private pep talk from Jose Mourinho has sparked his staminacharged resurgence at Tottenham. When the Portuguese coach replaced Mauricio Pochettino in the Spurs hot-seat last November, Winks was apprehensive.

For starters, he had never played for any manager other than the sacked Argentinian.

Then, after being picked for Mourinho’s opening two victories overwest Ham and Olympiakos, Winks suddenly found himself on the bench at Bournemouth.

That led to a run of games when he was either hooked in the second half or used as a late sub.

Some might have sulked.winks did nothing of the sort. Instead he arranged a meeting with

Mourinho and was told he had to step up his pace in training to become a permanent fixture in the Tottenham engine room.

Winks took that message on board and has scarcely looked back since. In nine of the last ten games the six-cap England star has lasted the full 90 minutes.

Winks, 24 last month, said: “The new manager has been brilliant with everybody.

“I’d never had the experience of playing under a new manager. I’d only worked under Pochettino.

“From the beginning, I was a little in and out. I had an honest chat with the manager and he told me what I needed to do.

“It wasn’t anything too in-depth, just an honest conversation, which I respect massively.

“It started with my training, just to up my whole level and intensity. I said I agreed and went back and did it.

“Since that conversation, I’ve upped my training levels and had a lot more minutes.

“I’ve been playing regularly, and for me that is all I want, to play 90 minutes every week.

“In the last couple of months I’ve had that pleasure. But like

Veveryone, I still have to earn his trust now because one or two poor performances and I could be back out. I never relax in that sense.”

It has been an impressive turnaround by Winks, but asked if people fully appreciate his breed of holding, possessionbased midfielder, Winks said: “I don’t think we do.

“Every team needs goalscorers, attacking players, players who can sweep up a ball, but every team needs that someone who can be the link between defence and attack.”

The good news for injury-ravaged Spurs ahead of a crunch fortnight is thatwinks is feeling fitter than ever.

After today’s home league clash against top-four rivals Wolves, they host Norwich in the FA Cup and, a week later, go to Germany, needing to overturn a 1-0 deficit against RB Leipzig in the Champions League.

He added: “It will be a difficult ask to do well in all three competitions but that’s our aim.”