Jose's five-point preview - Olympiacos

This evening represents Jose Mourinho’s first match against Olympiacos in the Champions League and our new Head Coach is full of respect for the Greek giants. At the same time, he’s determined get the job done - victory and we’re through to the knockout stage of the competition.

Here’s what Jose had to say to us ahead of Matchday Five in Group B at the new stadium this evening (8pm).

1 - Preparation

It’s a similar situation for Jose and his coaching staff ahead of their first game at West Ham on Saturday – just two full days to prepare, this time for a key Champions League match. So, the question is the same – what has he been looking for from the players in the short time between matches?

Jose: “It’s about detail after detail after detail. We have to select information, principles of play, be very, very careful in what we select, try to be very clear to them the work on the pitch has to be with a very low density, because you don’t want to affect their recovery, but is progressively to bring ideas, to work ideas, to work principles. So, for example, against West Ham on the pitch we only worked on attacking organisation. We had no conditions to do defensive work, also because defensive work is really intense when you want to work on pressing, the way of pressing and the position of play on pressing. We have to select things and this time we hope to improve. We played very well, we did amazing things and we need to follow this. What do we want? We want to win the game, but we want more than that. We want to play well, we want to be happy with our way of play, with our style of play and improve in every aspect. Let’s see if we can get that progression.”

2 - Olympiacos

It was put to Jose that Olympiacos’ displays arguably warrant more than the one point in the group so far – they came from 2-0 down to draw with us, led Red Star away before going down to 10 men and losing and then pushed Bayern Munich all the way home and away. What does Jose expect from the Greek side?

Jose: “They have one point, against us, but it wasn’t easy for Bayern Munich in both matches, the second match in Munich was really, really difficult until they scored the second goal to kill the game. Olympiacos are a good team. I think at this moment they are focussed on the Greek championship, which is very important for them. They are also trying, still, for a little possibility of qualifying, but they still have it because they have six points in front of them, if not the Europa League. They will come here with everything they have. Pedro Martins, the coach, he was also as a player - good resilience, with good spirit. It’s not going to be easy. We need to play well, if not to say very well, to win the game.”

3 - Getting the job done

A simple question for Jose - how important is it for us to win this evening and book our place in the knockout stage with that final game at Bayern Munich still in hand?

Jose: “It’s important to qualify, first. Can we qualify now? Better. If we need to go to Munich with that objective, then let’s go to Munich. The reality is that after Munich (11 December), we play Wolves away (15 December), a very intense match, very difficult and when you look at the overall picture, it would be better for us to qualify now and face the Munich game always with a professional dimension, but probably with a different perspective.”

4 - Jose and the Champions League

One of the most decorated managers of all time, Jose has won the Champions League twice (Porto in 2004, Inter in 2010) – what does the competition mean to him?

Jose: “It means some of the best moments of my career. It means also some of the big disappointments of my career because I lost a few semi-finals. I always say, to win (league) championships is what gives you the whole package, 11 months of competition to win a certain championship. But the Champions League is the champions of Europe. It has this aura, this special feeling around it. It’s a dream for everyone that works at a certain level. It’s the kind of thing that you need to look at with a different perspective than you would to a championship. A championship is about every day, it’s about every match, about every point you win and every point your direct opponents lose. The Champions League has two phases and when you go over the group stage, then it’s a new competition, a competition of details, I call it, because that’s really what it is.”

5 - Home sweet home

This will be Jose’s first match in charge of Spurs at the new stadium - how might he feel when he steps out of the tunnel, hears the Champions League anthem and sits in the home dugout for the first time?

Jose: “When I’m at a football match I’m like this (tunnel vision), I don’t see so much, I try not to go away from my focus, but of course, we listen, we feel, we smell and when you have that positive feeling, it gives you extra confidence. Away from home, I honestly prefer to play in difficult atmospheres, I like that in away matches. But at home, I like the love. Not to me, to my team. I like my team to play with that extra feeling. Every time I played against Spurs at White Hart Lane, I always felt that envy of the support the team had, the connection, the relationship with the fans. Now I have this on my side and if I can help develop that empathy between the pitch and the stands, I will be happy.”