Jose must win silver to prevent his golden boy Kane from leaving Spurs
Tuchel reveals United gave him the worst defeat of his managerial career on that unforgettable night in Paris in 2019 Reds face massive matches against their top four rivals which will make or break season
JOSE MOURINHO has no margin for error to prevent his first full season in charge of Tottenham ending in failure – and possibly the exit of talisman Harry Kane. If Spurs finish yet another campaign without a trophy, and with no Champions League football in September, you must wonder whether Kane is going to stick around much longer. Even if they win the League Cup final against Manchester City, it may not be enough to appease the supporters, chairman Daniel Levy or even Kane himself. I only had a League Cup winner’s medal to show for my career and I still get absolutely slaughtered for it.
For this season to be regarded as a success, Mourinho probably has to deliver Champions League football – and that means putting all his eggs in one basket by winning the Europa League.
On paper, their last-16 tie against Dinamo Zagreb looks very winnable, but it feels like a lifetime since Tottenham beat City 2-0 to go top of the Premier League. That left City eight points off the lead in eighth place in November and some of us got carried away so much we even said Spurs were genuine title contenders.
Look how far the table has turned. Tottenham have taken only 11 points from their last 12 games with City now a massive 23 points ahead of them.
That’s a 31-point swing – absolutely incredible.
As a serial winner, finishing the season without a trophy is simply not an option for Mourinho (right, with Kane).
Spurs have been there and done that for the last 13 years.
The League Cup in 2008 remains their only trophy this century.
If the fans were never entirely convinced about Mourinho’s style of football, they were happy to wear it when Tottenham topped the league.
So what would placate the fans? In the short term, winning the League Cup and finishing eighth or ninth may not be enough, even if it puts a trophy in the cabinet.
Winning the FA Cup and finishing fifth wasn’t enough to save Louis van Gaal’s job at Manchester United in 2016.
The board at Old Trafford wanted Champions League football, so Van Gaal was axed and Mourinho took his place, so
Jose knows the score. Barring another dramatic turn of fortune, the top four is out of reach now, so the only way to qualify for the Champions League is to win the Europa League.
What I can’t understand is how Tottenham have reached this point. They have a great squad and they are better than their current position suggests. A front three of Kane, Son and Gareth Bale should have been a handful for anyone – but we have only seen glimpses of Bale.
Where has he been hiding? The player who came on and hit the bar against West Ham, the player who finished so expertly against Wolfsberg in Europe, is the player I remember.
And Dele Alli, who was a fixture in England’s midfield only two or three years ago, has been used sparingly by Mourinho. He hasn’t become a bad player overnight.
Mourinho praised Alli’s work ethic as much as his brilliant overhead kick in midweek.
But it does not solve the mystery of why such a talented player has been marginalised so often this season.
So, in short, I believe it’s the Europa League or bust for Mourinho now.
THOMAS TUCHEL has revealed Manchester United inflicted the worst defeat of his managerial career to date.
Tuchel admitted he was left in a “dark place” and could not even speak to anyone after his former club, Paris Saint-Germain, lost to United in the Champions League round of 16 on away goals in March 2019, following Marcus Rashford’s 94th-minute penalty.
The Blues boss faces United again tomorrow at Stamford Bridge in what he describes as a “huge” game for Chelsea, as they try to hunt down Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team in the race for a top-four spot.
Tuchel said: “I didn’t experience anything like that ever again or before. After that match, I was for two days in a very dark place. I was not able to speak to anybody.
“It was the circumstances – the pressure around the club concerning the round of 16, the history before, the result of the first match (2-0 to PSG), and the way the second match went with the VAR decision in the last minute.
“It can teach you that you have to stand up and accept that a defeat is sometimes necessary to grow and to ask yourself decisive questions.
That can hurt and the reward was one year later when we arrived in the final. It was through adversity and it’s often said that it makes you stronger.
“We all know that defeats are hard to digest. Am I a good loser? So, so.
“But I love to turn it around. We love the competition and we love to win and love a good fight for it, and this is what we will hopefully get on Sunday.” Tuchel – who lost one and won one when PSG played United in this season’s Champions League group stage – also sees Solskjaer’s men as a huge test for his evolving Chelsea team.
“If we get a win out of this game, it is huge for us, and if they get a win, it is huge for them to increase the difference between us,” said Tuchel.
“It’s not out of reach, there are still many games to play.
“It can be a huge step, but you absolutely don’t want to lose against a direct opponent that are six points ahead of us.”
The German also admitted he wants to be “expressive” with his players in training – even if sometimes he struggles to hide his emotions.
Tuchel added: “It can be very positive – but they also see my anger sometimes!
“I can only be me because there’s no right or wrong in coaching, only the belief and the strength to do it your way.
“This is me being expressive – to be direct and to make them feel instantly what I like and what I don’t.”
MANCHESTER UNITED boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admits they face a “massive” run of games in their bid to secure a top-four spot.
Three of United’s next four Premier League games are against direct top-four rivals before the international break at the end of the month.
United travel to fifthplaced Chelsea tomorrow, face a trip to runaway leaders Manchester City next weekend and also host inform West Ham, who are currently fourth.
After Chelsea, that brings the Norwegian into direct conflict with (above, from left) Pep Guardiola, David Moyes and AC Milan’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the Europa League.
Solskjaer’s side have picked up just nine points from a possible 18 to throw open the top-four race, and he is aware of the importance of the upcoming run.
“The three games are massive,” said Solskajer. “We’ve got Chelsea, who are just behind us, and we’ve got City away, who are in front of us.
“Of course we can’t let them run further away if we have ambitions of catching them and we can’t give Chelsea too much hope of catching us either. Every game is important and now until the international break will be a big period.
“We always say look at April and May to see how we are then, so let’s get to the international break and then we can focus on the run-in.”
Solskjaer turned to youth in the midweek Europa tie against Real Sociedad when there was a glimpse of the future in 17-year-old Shola Shoretire (above).
But he will rely heavily on experience in the Premier League, convinced the topfour race will go down to the wire, just like last season, when United beat Leicester 2-0 away on the final day to secure a Champions League spot at the Foxes’ expense. “I think it’s going to be a long run-in,” said Solskjaer. “I don’t think the positions will be decided early. “For me, every game is massive. “We know how difficult Chelsea is going to be and how important that’s going to be for us.
“It’s still 38 games for every team, although if you get a run, good or bad, it might impact you as a group and the culture.
“For us, bouncing back after a couple of setbacks we’ve had, it’s an important period. Our mentality is really good and we look forward to these games.”
United did the double over Chelsea last season, as well as beating them in the EFL Cup, but Solskjaer knows they are stronger under new boss Thomas Tuchel, who has yet to lose a game.
He said: “Thomas has come in and it’s changed a little bit at Chelsea, so it’s going to be a great challenge for us.
“You can see the results, the stats, the possession they’ve had, they keep teams away from their own goal and keep possession.
“Hopefully we can stop that run, that’s my job now.”