Mourinho may be forced to change high-pressing tactics until ‘lazy’ yp Spurs py players can get g up p to speed

Jose Mourinho rinho has not always ways been associated ciated with pressing sing opponents s high up the pitch, but it is something g he has tried to instill still in Tottenham m Hotspur and a tactic that t did not work properly perly against Everton. verton.

“I didn’t t like my team,” ” he said after that 1-0 defeat. “We were not physically cally strong, no o intensity. We were lazy in our pressing.”

Pressing g high up the pitch ch is an aggressive e tactic which can n force turnovers s and produce chances to score, but which whi can leave the defending team vulnerable at a the back if the opponent beats the press. That pr press can be easi easily bypassed if just one part of the unit fails to do thei their job properly, whi which is precisely wha what Mourinho was referencing whe when lamenting the “lazy” job his forw forwards had don done out of po possession.

Spurs were an exc excellent pressing side under Mau Mauricio

Poc Pochettino, but had adapted their styl style until Mou Mourinho repl replaced the outg outgoing man manager. Since

then, Mourinho has tried to recapture some of the aggression that made Pochettino’s best Spurs side so difficult to play against, with a significant uplift in possession won in the final third.

Against Everton, Spurs were set up in a 4-2-3-1 and tried to press as a 4-4-2, the idea being to block passing lanes, show the ball wide, and aggressively close down the ball to win it back quickly.

Mourinho tried to explain the reason for some players, such as Harry Kane (far left), lazily jogging into position during Everton build-up play was a lack of preseason training fitness, but it was key in the press failing.

You could choose multiple examples, but Kane’s failure to press meant the likes of Michael Keane were able to pass forward with ease, allowing Allan and James Rodriguez to begin attacks and put the hosts under pressure.

Kane, though, was far from the only one at fault, with the highlighted example showing how Kane, Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura all failed to do their job, leaving Dele Alli pressing on his own.

If players do not close down opponents quickly enough to make the press effective, there is no point in employing it.

Tottenham’s heavy fixture pile-up could force Mourinho into a change of tactics for the next few games, with Spurs dropping their first line of engagement closer to the halfway line to conserve energy and ensure they are not opened up as against Everton, which would mark a return to a more familiar style of play for Mourinho.

Perhaps that is precisely what he needs in order to like his team again until they are ready to play how he wants.