MOURINHO A CHARM OF
NEW Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho has said he does not need money to revamp the squad in January, then invited predecessor Mauricio Pochettino to visit the club’s training ground whenever he likes.
Mourinho was unveiled as Spurs’ new head coach yesterday in front of the world’s media on his return to English football, and promptly embarked on a charm offensive to win over his critics and doubters.
The 56-year-old was last seen in the dugout 11 months ago when he left previous club Manchester United with many questioning whether his time at the top level had passed.
But Mourinho is back and claiming his chance to return to the Premier League was not about himself, more an opportunity to ‘try and help’ Spurs after a miserable season which sees them 14th in the table ahead of tomorrow’s London derby at West Ham.
Asked whether he expected to give chairman Daniel Levy a ‘wishlist’ for January’s transfer window, Mourinho replied: ‘I don’t need players, I just need time to understand these ones.’
On the numerous players whose contracts expire next summer, he said: ‘It’s too early [to talk about players’ futures]. I had no time for individual cases, [Daniel] Levy didn’t have time.’
Spurs’ instability this term has not been helped by an inability to sell the likes of Christian Eriksen and Jan Vertonghen in the summer but, with the team having not won away in the league since January, Mourinho said: ‘I hope I can influence the players to not be happy with not winning matches, if you are happy with that it’s difficult to be a winner.’
Mourinho was in the mood to make friends yesterday after the way he fell out of favour at United.
In 2015, while manager of Chelsea, he claimed he would never manage Spurs but had a message for fans as he revealed he was back in his favourite league of all. ‘[That was] before I was sacked! That’s modern football. They have to see me as Mr Inter, Mr Real Madrid, Mr Porto, Mr Club. I wear the pyjamas of the club and even sleep in the pyjamas. I am a club man but a many clubs man,’ he added.
He had a warning for players about what they can expect. ‘Sometimes you work with people you don’t love and work well,’ he said. ‘I have principles I will have for the rest of my career and I can’t change — I don’t like to lose.’
And he reserved special mention for Pochettino, who left after five-and-ahalf years on Tuesday. ‘This club will always be his home. This training ground will always be his training ground. The door will always be open for him,’ Mourinho insisted.
A solid opening but Mourinho knows all too well how the PR machine works. Whether or not the good mood lasts remains to be seen.