Jose Mourinho has called on his attacking players to step up and hit the goal trail in the absence of Tottenham talisman Harry Kane.
The England captain is sidelined with an ankle injury and is likely to miss a third game in succession when West Brom visit on Sunday.
Things have not gone well for Tottenham in their star man’s absence. Indeed, Spurs have lost their last three Premier League games – a run they had not suffered since November 2012. Since Thursday’s loss, talk has grown that Mourinho could face the sack – an idea not welcomed by a former Spurs midfielder.
Spurs only have a wonder strike from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to show for their attacking endeavour in Kane’s absence. As such, Mourinho wants his other players to prove that Tottenham are not a one-man team.
“It’s always the old story,” Mourinho said. “A team is not a player. A team cannot depend on a player. Other players they have to step up.
“That’s the reality of things. But there are players that are special players in different teams.
“Even the biggest teams in the world, when Player X is not there, they miss him. We can have many examples of what these players mean for certain clubs, and for certain teams.
“And for sure Harry is very important for us. He leads. He creates. He has dynamics of closed eyes with Sonny for example. But of course, other guys they have to step up to be honest.
“(Carlos) Vinicius tried his best against Chelsea, he couldn’t score his goal. I’m happy with him, period, I don’t want to say much more. I’m happy with his effort.”
While not naming Gareth Bale, he is surely one of the players Mourinho wants more from during Kane’s absence.
“The other guys, apart from Sonny, we know they are not goalscorers. They are not the kind of players that, as attacking players, they can score eight, 10, 12 goals in a season. You know that these are not their characteristics.
“So we have to fight with what we have and against West Bromwich. With Harry Kane, without Harry Kane, we have to go, we have to win that match.”
Subscribe for free to TEAMtalk’s daily newsletter…
Mourinho sees Tottenham positives
Jorginho’s penalty, in the end, was all that separated Chelsea and Tottenham on Thursday. However, it was the manner of the performance in the 1-0 defeat that will most upset their supporters.
The defeat piles the pressure on Mourinho and will likely lead to many more questions about his method and tactics.
However, the Portuguese firebrand insists the performance wasn’t as bad as made out and says the way they finished the game gives him ‘positive feelings’.
“We had a great chance by Vinicius, we can analyse the game from the first to the last minute. If you want to be pragmatic, one penalty, one goal, 1-0,” he told BT Sport.
“When a team is in a difficult game against Chelsea, you concede that penalty and are affected by it. By the end of the the first half I saw a team that was struggling but it was totally the opposite in the second half.
“We miss a lot of important players but the spirit in the second half is untouchable.
“We don’t like it (the form) but the way we finished the game gives me positive feelings. It is not that that stops the defensive mistakes but it gives us a difficult smile on the face and to stick together and go tomorrow.
“Hopefully next week Harry Kane will be back but not any of the others. We play Sunday against West Brom and they need points as much as us for different reasons.”
READ MORE: Man Utd lead Tottenham in duel for defender once wanted by Barcelona
The post Mourinho turns heat on Vinicius, Bale in ongoing Kane absence appeared first on teamtalk.com.
James Marshment
No comments:
Post a Comment