Jose: Euro qualification the least Spurs deserve
Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho believes his side deserve European qualification this season for the hardship they have come through.
Spurs find themselves in the thick of the race for the Europa League, despite a difficult campaign that saw Mourinho arrive midway through following the dismissal of Mauricio Pochettino.
He was without key players, including Harry Kane, for large periods, but they are finishing the season strongly and two wins from their final two games, starting with Leicester today, should see them qualify.
Only Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United have accrued more points than Spurs since Mourinho arrived in November, which gives the Portuguese belief they are heading in the right direction.
“I think Spurs would be even better than that without all the problems that we had,” he said. “No other team had even similar problems to that.
“In the most difficult moment of the season I was just speaking about surviving, surviving was to leave us in a position where we could eventually fight for that.
“The fact that we’re fourth since my arrival, without (Hugo) Lloris, Harry Kane, (Moussa) Sissoko, Son (Heung-min), without almost everybody, is a good reflection of the potential we have, the work we’re all doing.
“That’s why I say the minimum we deserve is to finish in a position to keep us in European football, a competition that we don’t deserve.
“It’s not our level, we’re better than that, but still European competition.
“Football is not about what you deserve, it’s about what you effectively get. So we can’t say we deserve it and then don’t get points in these two matches. So we need to win matches now.”
Spurs handed young midfielder Oliver Skipp a new contract on Friday, tying the 19-year-old down until 2024.
Mourinho has touted him as a future captain, but says he is likely to go out on loan next season.
“I’m really happy. Everybody in the club is, his team-mates are, I am and Skippy is or he wouldn’t sign the contract,” Mourinho said.
“I think he’s genuinely Tottenham’s future. He’s one of these players by human quality, by personality, he is one of these kids that I have no doubt he will be an important player for Tottenham.
“Sometimes coaches are selfish and I told him that. I never told him I want him to go on loan, I always told him I wanted him to stay here, because that’s the selfish perspective of a coach who wants the best possible squad.
“He wants to go on loan, six months, the whole season. He feels that he needs that, I also feel that would be good for his evolution, so maybe that is the direction we go.
“I think he can be more than a player, he can be a future captain here. Hugo, Harry. I see this kid being one day a future captain here by his character, by his personality. I feel really happy that he signed.”
Meanwhile, Brendan Rodgers has accused Mourinho’s detractors of showing the Tottenham boss “a lack of respect”.
Spurs were 12th in the Premier League when Mourinho succeeded Mauricio Pochettino in November, and the Portuguese has lifted them into seventh and raised the prospect of playing European football next season with two games remaining.
But Mourinho’s playing style and tactics are often perceived as negative and the threetime Premier League title winner has faced criticism since he has been in north London.
“Jose is a world-class manager. He has been until this point of his career and will continue to be that,” said Rodgers, who spent time as Mourinho’s youth and reserve-team manager at Chelsea.
Rodgers says he is looking forward to his first visit to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as the Foxes seek to keep their Champions League dream alive.
Fourth-placed Leicester are level on points with Manchester United and the two sides meet on the final weekend.
“It would certainly be up there,” Rodgers said when asked where getting Leicester into the Champions League would rank in his career achievements.
“At Liverpool it was about getting the club back in the Champions League. At Celtic it was a different challenge but we did good work there too.
“Coming here’s a different challenge because there’s not that expectancy. There’s ambition of course, and the challenge of bringing a team into the top six.
“We’ve been able to do that in our first full season and now we have a chance over a couple of games to go even better than that and arrive in the top four.
“But if we didn’t get in the top four it would still be an absolutely brilliant season for us.”
Leicester bounced back from a 4-1 defeat at Bournemouth to record only a second post-lockdown win against Sheffield United on Thursday.