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With nine games remaining for the season, Tottenham is currently in sixth place in the Premier League. The London side are three points behind Chelsea in their quest for the important 4th place they give to Champions League matches next season.
– There are so many teams fighting for the same thing and each point costs a lot. It is different from other European leagues, where all the results are more predictable. With our ups and downs throughout the season, we are currently in what I call an open position. We can take two or three steps up and we can take two or three steps down. “I think it will be open until the end,” Tottenham manager José Mourinho told TV 2.
And tips from the Portuguese can pay off quickly. With a quarter left of the season, only ten points remain separating Chelsea in fourth place and Aston Villa in tenth place.
– If you want to guarantee a place in the Champions League, you have to choose another league. If you go to Portugal, France, Spain or Germany, you can almost predict who will finish there when the season starts, says Mourinho and continues:
– In England you can do the same to a greater extent than before, because some teams are growing more and more. That distance will get bigger and bigger. With so many clubs fighting for the Champions League, there will always be one that ends up out.
– Strange
The 58-year-old is in his first full season as Tottenham manager. It was not just a dance of roses for the worthy manager. Before the national team break, the Lily Whites were knocked out of the Europa League, after all, after Dinamo Zagreb changed 0-2 to 3-2 in the quarterfinals.
– What we do now is something we have never done before. It’s something new and something you never get used to. You never get used to going to a football game in empty stadiums. I think that everyone who is used to working at the highest level in football misses it a lot, and I think it affects the results, explains Mourinho and adds:
– In Europe, even some games are played on neutral courts and the away goal rule is not fully understood, because nobody plays at home. Everything starts to get a little strange.
In addition to empty stands and neutral fields, this season has also included a much tighter match schedule than usual, without Mourinho wanting to complain about it.
– It’s difficult and complicated, but that’s the way it is. We should not complain too much, because at the end of the day the most important thing is that we can play football, even if it is behind closed doors. We do it for people and for ourselves, and we must feel privileged. This is not the season to complain about the set-up of the match, claims the Portuguese.
I love the passion
Tottenham have had a highly variable season so far. After a difficult period with four defeats in five games from late January to mid-February, the London team fought back with five consecutive league wins before the national team break. Although he hates losing, Mourinho admits that he enjoys life in the Premier League.
– It’s very difficult to win football matches here, but I don’t want to say it’s a bad thing. That’s a good thing, because there are other leagues in European football where it doesn’t take much to win matches and at the end of the day they will probably lose a bit of that passion. I love everything about English football, even the press that knows football better than I do, says Mourinho in the usual way.
Well, the charismatic coach has always had an ambivalent relationship with the English media, but even Mourinho can say that in recent years he has learned to live with it.
– I think it is so and I don’t have the power to change it. You have to adapt and you don’t, if you can’t build a shell around yourself that protects you from being affected by circumstances, then you won’t be able to resist it. I have been here since 2004, although I have had periods in other countries, so this has almost become my football country. I have adapted and I am happy, smile.
– But do you use some of the criticism as inspiration to refute people?
– No, Mourinho sighs, clearly desisting from the question, before continuing:
– Not at all. I never think about it.
On a trophy hunt
One thing the Portuguese, on the other hand, think about is trophies. On April 25, you have the opportunity to pick up your first Tottenham coach. Then Manchester City must be defeated in the league cup final.
– Some players have been here for many years and never won a trophy, so of course it will be a great moment for them, the fans and me. For me, it will not be the first trophy, but it will be the first trophy with this club. It’s very, very important, he says.
And Mourinho knows a thing or two about being in a final. Among other things, he has won the league cup with his two former employers in England. Twice with Chelsea and once with Manchester United.
– We know who we will meet in the final, but I think I can share some of my experience with the players. I have never been to a final where I have felt that one team is better than the other, or that it is a huge favorite. A final is a final, and when you reach a final, I always have the feeling that it is 50/50, says Mourinho firmly.
– What does it take to be happy with this season?
– I dont know. To be happy is to win the next game. So I have always been. I want to win the next game, concludes the Tottenham manager.
