The Tottenham and Mourinho Factor- Tottenham’s boss had revealed that his team won’t be involved in any more warm-up ties. This was ahead of the return of the Premier League this week. Arsenal played a couple of games and it hurt them. Due to the heavy schedule coming in, the iconic Portuguese boss had said that it would be too risky for Spurs to play in another friendly this week.
The lockdown period has certainly boosted the Spurs squad. Spurs played Norwich City in a behind-the-closed-doors’ friendly last week where Harry Kane, Heung-min Son, and Moussa Sissokho all played their parts. These players were out injured when the season got suspended in March. Jose Mourinho’s Spurs will play his previous club Manchester United this Friday followed by another tie against West Ham in a London derby in two days.
What The Tottenham Manager Said?
“We are not going to have any more friendlies. Think it would be good, but it is too risky,” Mourinho told the club’s official website.
“We are going to do a normal preparation week, starting on Monday and going through to Friday. After that, we’ve two more days and then West Ham, so the next 10 days are going to be busy.”
Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the Premier League was on hold since March and since then the situation has now changed dramatically. With the new health regulations, the teams will have to play all the remaining matches behind closed doors and without the fans. There will be more substitutions available for each team with more options on the bench.
What Mourinho Went On To Add?
“Have to adapt to this new reality. We have to think that the points are there to fight for. With or without fans, points are there on the pitch. We and United will have to fight for them.”
The Special One added, Needed minutes, we needed to know the feeling of playing here without our supporters and to have this training session with another Premier League team is the best thing.”
Tottenham is still in the race of qualifying for next season’s Champions League. Jose Mourinho’s side is currently at eighth position in the Premier League seven points behind city rivals Chelsea. They are four points behind Mourinho’s previous club Manchester United. Friday’s fixture against Manchester United is going to be one of the crucial ties for Spurs this season. Finishing in the fifth position will be enough to qualify for next season’s Champions League thanks to Manchester City’s two-year ban from Europe.
If Spurs want to play the Champions League next season, they cannot lose against Manchester United this Friday. The fixtures will be coming to think and fast after that and it will not be easy to recover points at the last phase of the season. Spurs will face West Ham at home in a London derby right after two days of United match. Thereafter, they will be playing Sheffield United away, who are also in the race of qualifying for Europe.
