MOURINHO MUST SHORE UP DEFENCE AND MEND BROKEN TEAM SPIRIT

PROBLEMS AT THE BACK

A tight defence was once a cornerstone of Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham, but that has been a key struggle this season.

They have faced more shots in the Premier League than any other side, have kept just one clean sheet and conceded seven against Bayern Munich.

Mourinho is renowned for his ability to build a side that is defensively rigid and must work on drilling his new back line to make them far more solid.

GET THE BEST OUT OF CONTRACT REBELS

Pochettino had it tough after a proposed summer rebuild flunked and he was left with a host of players who had been expected to leave.

Several of those, notably Christian Eriksen (pictured), Jan Vertonghen and Danny Rose, have been a shadow of their old selves this season, performing well below standard. Mourinho, who reportedly wants to persuade Eriksen to extend his deal, must find a way to unite the squad quickly and get the best out of players whose minds may be elsewhere.

FIX AWAY FORM

Terrible away form contributed to Pochettino’s demise. Spurs have won just three times on the road since January 10 – all in European competition.

Their last away win in the Premier League came 12 games ago at a Fulham team who went on to be relegated and that is simply not good enough for a side of Tottenham’s quality. Changing that will be key to Mourinho’s chances of restoring Spurs to the top four.

KEEP KANE HAPPY

While the fate of Eriksen, Rose, Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld may be out of his hands, Mourinho has it in his powers to convince Harry Kane his long-term future remains at Spurs.

The England captain is under contract until 2024, but has many admirers and has always said he wants to win things. Ideally that would be at Tottenham, and his chances of that might just have improved. But while Spurs are thought to have assured Mourinho – before he took the job – that Kane will stay, the new boss must do everything he can to make sure Kane, who was close to Pochettino, still feels content at the club.

WIN A TROPHY

This might not be an immediate concern but part of Mourinho’s overall brief will be to end Spurs’ lengthy trophy drought. Mourinho is a serial winner, lifting trophies at every club he has been at and that was the one thing missing from Pochettino’s reign. It has been over a decade since Spurs won a trophy and Mourinho will be desperate to change that.