Jose Mourinho and his Tottenham squad continue to disappoint fans with their lacklustre performances, but is the manager’s position at the club going to remain for much longer?
Jose Mourinho’s position is in question after Tottenham’s exit from the Europa Cup at the hands of Dinamo Zagreb.
And it’s not as if Tottenham’s season has been a complete shamble, victories like their 6-1 win against Manchester United gave a glimmer of hope, but this past week could have been some of the worst outing’s they have had this season. A London derby defeat to Arsenal was then followed up with a shocking 3-0 loss against Dinamo Zagreb.
This bout of form saw Mourinho blame his players and their inability to follow orders, and now the tide is turning against the managers future at Tottenham.
Tottenham is now placed in 6th position in the English Premier League after the loss to Arsenal and a win against Villa and will face up against Newcastle after the International break – which will be a crucial result the club. If Tottenham is to suffer another defeat, a nine-point gap will separate them from a top-four finish, and they will only have nine games to catch up with Chelsea.
A Heritage sports review is already favouring a particular manager to replace Mourinho – with betting odds of 3/1 for RB Leipzig boss Julian Nagelsmann to arrive in North London as the man for the job.
Just beneath him in the running’s, Rafael Benitez shows betting odds of 10/1 and then Ranger’s legend & former Liverpool star Steven Gerrard following at 14/1 because of his Scottish Premier League title win.
Other managers have also been pitted as suitable replacements; Diego Simone and Ralph Hasenhuttin are also 14/1, with Gareth Southgate, Nuno Espirito, Chris Powell & Brendan Rodgers sat with the highest odds of 16/1.
The Anger at Tottenham Heightens
Spurs recovered a certain amount of dignity with a 2-0 against 10th placed Aston Villa. The pressure was on Mourinho. He delivered but took to social media, and praising former player John Terry has sparked outrage amongst its fan base.
After the final whistle, Mourinho embraced John Terry, who is currently the assistant head coach at Villa and has previously served as the manager for many years for Chelsea.
After the game, Mourinho posted a photo of Terry and himself with the caption, “Proud of my team @spursofficial and especially happy to feel my boys are and always will be my boys @john.terry26.”
The heated rivalry between Chelsea and Spurs did not enter the manager’s mind. Still, critics and fans alike did not appreciate the Tottenham manager praising outside entities rather than focussing on his own team’s efforts. The fact that Mourinho based his players following their UEFA exit and a loss to Arsenal felt his words came at the worst time.
The international break will allow tensions to ease, especially for Mourinho, who is under fire at the moment. Speaking with Sky Sports following the Aston Villa game, Mourinho talking about the mentality of his squad rather than highlighting the positives was awkward, and his refusal to take ownership himself is being frowned upon:
“Football nowadays is not easy concerning that,” Mourinho said. “Selfishness is around. Individual interest is around. Agents are around. The connections between agents and the press are around.”
“Instead of developing a feeling of team, a sense of empathy, a feeling of you do it for me, and I do it for you, a feeling that I win if I play 90 minutes, I win if I am in the stands…
“This is something that you need time to develop in a group because society and the psychological profile of younger people is not an easy one.”
Tottenham can look forward to a rest period this week, and perhaps Mourinho can focus on his failures at Tottenham rather than using his squad as the complete blame.
