Jose and Joao’s five-point preview – Brighton

Jose Mourinho and assistant Joao Sacramento both spoke to Spurs TV over the last few days to look ahead to tonight’s match at home to Brighton & Hove Albion (7.15pm UK).

Here’s their five-point preview...

1 – Strength of the opponents

Jose was asked about the threat posed by Brighton in the wake of Thursday’s 1-0 loss at Royal Antwerp in the Europa League.

Jose: “Brighton are much better than Antwerp, period. There is no point of comparison. Quality is not enough, but the reality is that in every match apart from (Thursday’s) one, I can only praise my players, so, I hope they feel hurt by this defeat, they can self-analyse and get the points against Brighton which, I repeat, is a much more difficult match.”

2 – Frustration

Did Jose feel the players can use the frustration of Thursday’s result to our advantage tonight?

Jose: “Yes, I hope so. It’s a different competition. Probably, with a victory at home in a six-match group phase (in the Europa League), probably people thought the job was done but it’s not done, three points is not enough. In the Premier League, you look to the table and win one game, you go up, lose one game, you go down. I think there is more pressure there, and more pressure leads to more concentration and to a better performance and better result.”

3 – Expectations of the visitors

What kind of challenge did Jose expect us to come up against tonight?

Jose: “I expect the same from Brighton every time I play them. They want to be aggressive, they want to be fast in transition, they want to use the ball, they want to try to hide the ball from you. They are a team that goes to every stadium and plays the game face-to-face and tries to win. So, a good game to play I hope.”

4 – More on Brighton’s tactics

Assistant Head Coach Joao underlined Jose’s point about Brighton’s style of play.

Joao: “Brighton is a team that knows very, very well what they want. It’s a team that when you watch them, you can identify very quickly their philosophy, their way of play. They play good football, they are a team that is very strong away from home and of course it will not be an easy game.”

5 – Premier League passion

As a young coach working in the Premier League, how much did Joao relish the challenge of games like tonight’s?

Joao: “This is the best league in the world. As you can see, each team has a very good squad, it’s the league where the best managers – most of them – are here. Every week, it’s a tactical battle every time, so it’s a pleasure to be here and learning from the best.”