The reaction to two Tottenham players who had a gap was very much on the mark for Jose Mourinho.
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Mourinho summoned the interval between captain Hugo Lloris and protagonist Heung-min Son “handsome” and praised the fighting spirit of his players by beating Everton 1-0.
Speaking to reporters via Zoom after the win, Mourinho stressed that he wants his part of Tottenham to be worse when asked to say they should grow.
“A team of good guys, good guys, the only thing they win at the end of the season is the fair play cup. Which is something I’ve never won and I don’t care about winning it, “said Mourinho. “You must have a certain character. You have to grow in terms of mentality, of responsibility because it is very, very important to be consistent. To have a good game, you win one game, then you lose the other one, then you win another one, then you draw another one. This is the kind of mentality that doesn’t take you further into your ambitions. It is not a specific concept but it is a concept that covers many, many areas. I think it is very, very important. I don’t like a team without communication, without demanding from each other. I don’t like a team without a critical sense. Probably what happened today at half time should not happen there, it should happen right inside the locker room, but I can promise you that my teams, my winning teams, we had great fights in the team. “
That reaction from Jose Mourinho said everything about what he expects from Tottenham. He certainly knows all about the win and that’s why Tottenham hired him.
A winning victory to beat Everton at home to move into eighth place, nine points from the top four, is probably not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but Mourinho loved what he saw.
“I think they are the same thing, the same spirit,” said Mourinho when ProSoccerTalk asked him about the fight of his players on and off the pitch. “We talked a lot after the Sheffield United game and one of the things we talked about was having a critical sense, being open to each other and being demanding of each other. Don’t accept the attitude. Don’t be passive towards others. I think it was a consequence of this. The performance has been very solid. My feeling was that the game was under control and I never felt that the game was not under control.
“Could we play better? Could we score more? Yes of course. I’m always afraid of games after bad defeats because sometimes you stay in bad defeats. Sometimes you bring the weight of bad performances into play, the weight of criticism and the boys have been great in their attitude. They fought hard for the three points and at this moment of the season the most important thing is the points, to try to finish in the best possible position. “
Tottenham is becoming a Mourinho team and this means that the game on the pitch will not be as good looking as it could be, but will manage to achieve results like this.
Mourinho was asked to become only the fifth coach in Premier League history to win 200 games, with only Sir Alex Ferguson reaching that milestone in fewer games than he did, and that was his answer.
“Of course, as you know, I’m not a very humble guy, but when you train three of the best clubs in England you have more chances to do it,” Mourinho smiled. “Sir Alex did it because his whole career in England was at Manchester United. I did it because I was with Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham. I think no one asks the untitled coaches that their teams have made 200 amazing shows. You’re telling me your teams have won 200 Premier League games. You don’t tell anyone that didn’t win anything, “your team had 100 or 200 incredible shows.” But I want to admit that today I would be even happier if it wasn’t just a victory, but it was a good victory, I would be happier and I want my team to do it. “
Mourinho will play “all I do is win, win, win” on the radio on his car returning home on Monday. So he’ll probably make a punch between Harry Kane and Eric Dier just because.
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