Mourinho says players can ‘do much more’
Spurs head coach Jose Mourinho says he was “destroyed a little bit on the inside” by his side’s lack of fight against Sheffield United on Thursday.
Spurs sunk without a trace after a controversial video assistant referee decision robbed them of a goal as their Champions League hopes were left in tatters after a 3-1 defeat.
They were outplayed and outfought by the Blades and Mourinho, who called his players out on it, was “disturbed” by the performance.
“There was a lot in the game, there was a possibility of shortening distances to Champions League positions, there was the possibility of being more stable for the Europa League positions fight,” he said. “I thought that by a desire point of view, they put more in than us. That’s something that disturbs me.
“It’s something that I feel, I don’t know, that’s my way of being – it’s something that destroys me a little bit on the inside because I think the last thing in football is when you have the feeling you could, you should, do more.
“I always say it’s not a problem for me to lose because my opponent is better, it’s not a problem for me to lose because my goalkeeper made a big mistake, it’s not a problem for me to lose because my striker missed two chances with an open goal or a guy missed a penalty in the last minute.
“It’s not a problem for me to cope with mistakes and defeats. It’s a problem when my feeling was we could do much more.”
Spurs have a chance to resurrect their Europa League hopes against Everton tomorrow, though Dele Alli is a doubt after picking up a hamstring injury yesterday.
“Something today in training with Dele Alli,” Mourinho said. “When I say something it’s because I don’t think it’s big and I don’t really know what it is.
“The bad thing about a press conference 48 hours before the game is there’s still a session tomorrow so you will not know what I know, if he is available or not. Apart from that, nothing. Japhet Tanganga we believe training with the team next week. And no (other) problems.
“It’s his (Alli’s) hamstring. Which is something which he had problems with in the past, in previous seasons, even the beginning of this season, and it’s always something that makes the medical department think.”