Tue 23 June 2020, 11:05
Tottenham HotspurJose Mourinho’s exclusive pre-match chat with Spurs TV, broken down into five key points. Next up, West Ham at home in our second match back following the Premier League’s return and Friday’s draw against Manchester United.
It’s an 8.15pm kick-off at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
1 - United
Before talking about West Ham, a quick reflection on Friday’s 1-1 draw against Manchester United...
Jose: “We did very well for a long period of the game and deserved more than that. In the period they were stronger than us we resisted very well. Even the penalty, I don’t want to speak about that too much... if you see the position of our players, we were in control. Lots of positives from the game but the result wasn’t the result we wanted.”
2 - Options
Jose was pleased to report Lucas Moura’s availability after injury and with Dele returning from suspension, he has full attacking options for the first time...
Jose: “We have Dele and Lucas back and that gives us, for the first time since I arrived, all six attacking players available for the game - Dele, Lucas, Bergwijn, Lamela, Son and Kane. That’s a fantastic group of attacking players. If a few months ago we didn’t have any options, we now have six. Not just for the starting line-up, but to be able to interfere with the dynamic of the game with a strong bench is something really good for us.”
3 - Dele
Speaking about Dele, what has Jose made of our number 20 since his arrival in November? Dele has scored six goals in 16 league starts under Jose...
Jose: “He’s a talented player, as everybody knows. When he started in the Premier League, he made an incredible impact. For a period before my arrival, he was suffering a little bit, and then he improved again and went back to his normal levels. Then he suffered like everyone else in the team, when we didn’t have attacking players, Dele and Lucas were doing almost everything for the team and playing as a nine, playing as a 10, playing as a double nine, trying to resolve the problems of the team. Now he’s back, and he’s back like everyone else, with a little question mark in relation to his condition, because we are speaking about many, many weeks without football. Now we have options, players on the bench at the same level as the players on the pitch and even if the condition isn’t for 90 minutes, we can manage the players.”
Independent of points, ambitions, needs, independent of that, it’s a London derby, it’s Tottenham against West Ham, and that always means something
4 - West Ham
What is Jose expecting from tonight’s derby against the Hammers?
Jose: “Independent of points, ambitions, needs, independent of that, it’s a London derby, it’s Tottenham against West Ham, and that always means something. Apart from that, or on top of that, we need points to jump positions and to be fighting until the end. They need points to disappear from the danger zone. We are a better team than what the table says. They are a better team than what the table says, too. Without the emotion of the fans, I can imagine the same match in a normal situation full of our fans, and them with a few thousand, it’s going to be different, but against Manchester United, our match was the best match. I saw the first fixture of the Spanish league, of the Portuguese league, the German league and the Premier League... I think our match was the best match of all in terms of intensity, in terms of dynamic and fighting for the result. It was really a strong, proper match, a match that if it was in normal conditions, with a crowd and that emotion, it would be an amazing match, so let’s go.”
Watch - highlights of Jose's first game in charge
5 - Must win?
Finally, Jose was asked in his pre-match press conference if this was a must-win - or at least, must not lose - game...
Jose: “We have just to think about winning the game. Even a draw is not a good result for us. If we want to give up and we want to say our objective is just to try to finish seventh or something like that, that gives success to Europa League. If we reduce our ambitions, then of course a point is a point. But when you want to think of the maximum ambition possible, we need to win. In their case, it's for David to read the situation, but in this moment they are above the relegation line, but if they don’t want to suffer in the last couple of matches of the season, they need to make points there. I think they are good enough not to have relegation problems.”
