Jose Mourinho rubbishes claims of being over cautious in high profile matches

Recently a lot of critics have hit out at Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho questioning his over cautious approach against high profile opponents.

The Lillywhites have not been in their best shape as they recently lost 2-1 at the North London Derby against arch-rivals Arsenal. It was followed by a 0-3 thrashing against Dinamo Zagreb to get knocked out of the Europa League round of 16 despite leading the tie 2-0 after the first leg.

There was obviously a lot of criticism and questions among the people who questioned Mourinho’s tactical approach heading to big matches. However, the Portuguese tactician has lashed out at his critics denying the claims of being cautious against top teams.

When questioned by Sky Sports about taking an over cautious approach leading to high profile matches, Mourinho denied the claims. He said, “What you are telling me makes no sense.

“The team that played against Arsenal was exactly [the same] team that played against Crystal Palace,” he added, pointing to his side’s emphatic 4-1 win against the Eagles.

“If we go to Arsenal and we don’t play player A, B or C and we play with more defensive players, then yes, but what you are telling me makes no sense. If it is your view, I have to tell you, sorry, it makes no sense. If it is the view of others, I have to say the same. It makes no sense.”

Mourinho then continued pointing out that how he feels that instead of being negative he felt that at times his team was way too offensive against the Gunners which might have led to their downfall.

“We played with one considered (defensive) midfielder, [Pierre-Emile] Hojbjerg, then we played Gareth Bale, [Tanguy] Ndombele, Lucas [Moura], Son [Heung-min], [Harry] Kane,” he said.

“Son got injured and we didn’t replace him with a midfielder or a defender, we replaced Son with Erik Lamela. So I don’t understand.

“It’s the same personnel, the same plan, the same objective. It’s a different match. [Was it] different performances? Yes, but let’s be honest. If someone wants to blame me for something, it’s for playing too much of an offensive team,” Mourinho concluded.

Tottenham Hotspurs will look to get back on track in the Premier League as they are lagging behind in the eighth position and will look to climb up the ladder to secure a position in Europe next season.