Thu 04 February 2021, 11:20
Tottenham HotspurJose Mourinho looks ahead to this evening's huge Premier League derby clash against Chelsea at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (8pm).
1 - Latest on Harry Kane
The news is positive on Harry’s ankle injury...
Jose: “Harry is making good progress, he’s happy with the progress, of course we’re happy too. It’s not optimistic to say next week he should be playing, that should just be the consequence of his good evolution. We were a bit scared when everything happened, but now we are much more positive, and next week we play Everton midweek (FA Cup, 10 February) and City at the weekend (Premier League, 13 February) and I believe for one of these matches, he should be back.”
2 - Team news
Although the news is positive on Harry, the striker is still missing against Chelsea, one of four players out...
Jose: “Harry is still out, Reguilon is still out, Gio Lo Celso, probably one more month, Dele a few more days, but no-one is coming back for this match. Serge is the only player to come back into the group."
3 - No more blues
Jose said that the team looked ‘sad’ at Brighton - how do you deal with that?
Jose: “We work hard, and to work is also to speak, it’s dialogue, it’s to debate, to analyse, it’s also to sometimes put the finger in the scar, but other times it’s also to be sweet and massage egos a little. It’s to be calm, to be united and then, to work on the pitch, which we could do today (Wednesday). We try to prepare ourselves for the next game, and now we have two home matches to play in three days and we have to turn things.”
4 - Taking on Tuchel
Tonight represents Jose’s first match against a Thomas Tuchel side, the German installed as Chelsea boss on 26 January. What is he expecting?
Jose: “I expect, first of all, the Chelsea players. They are good players, and they have a fantastic squad. You look to the squad, lots of players, lots of options, so there is that potential. They have a new coach, so they have a new coach to give his fingerprint to the team. They will play in a different way than they did with Frank (Lampard), more similar to how they were playing with Antonio Conte. Thomas is a good coach, and a good coach with good players makes a good opponent, for sure.”
5 - A big week
Chelsea tonight, West Brom on Sunday then Everton in the FA Cup on Wednesday night - it feels like a big week ahead...
Jose: “I don’t change my direction by saying every match is an important match and every point you get or lose can be an important point. I also believe at the end of the season, normally the truth will be there. In this moment, you look to the table and you can say, hmm, this table is fake in terms of the potential of the teams. At the end of the season, normally, the truth will be there. So, we shouldn’t panic with the table, but, the last month was not good at all for us, and we want better results, that’s obvious. So, looking to the next three, two home matches and then a knockout match in the FA Cup (at Everton), we feel the matches are difficult, but we have the potential.”
