Tottenham manager José Mourinho admitted after a 3: 3 draw at LASK Linz, with which the “Kohouti” secured their progress to the playoffs, that the basic part of the European League does not motivate many of their charges and consider playing a necessary evil in it. Already when he won the competition with Manchester United three years ago, the 55-year-old Portuguese complained that the players in the European League are beginning to be interested mainly on the opponents’ pitches only from the elimination phase.
“I think it’s the same situation I experienced earlier in Manchester United, where we lost two games out in the group stage. Compared to Premier League games, I saw a huge difference in intensity, communication between players and their enthusiasm.” Mourinho told the BBC.
“So I’m not really experiencing anything new. I knew that the basic group of the European League does not motivate some players. Only when you make it to the playoffs will you come across better opponents who will get you in trouble and the team will face matches in a different way.” added the Portuguese coach.
Mourinho also sees a big difference between home and away matches. “Our team at home is different from the team outside. When we go to Antwerp, Razgrad, Linz, where you suffer from the weather, the empty stadium and the zero atmosphere, I have the experience that some players feel that they have nothing to do here.” Mourinho said, without naming specific players.
“The discrepancy is that there are players like Son (Hung-min) and Pierre (Hojbjerg), who usually start in the starting line-up, and they don’t care where or in which competition they play. They are available to the team throughout “Be sure that on Sunday against Arsenal, all my players will be as excited about the match as they are,” the Portuguese pointed out Sunday’s hit of the English league.
Mourinho, who awarded striker Gareth Ball for the 200th goal in his professional career after the match with Linc, expects a significantly better performance from his team in the North London derby. He also revealed that this time the leader Harry Kane will be available to the team.
“I could now start bluffing or pretending to have big health problems that he’s not playing for (in Linz). He has no problems, he’ll be playing on Sunday,” added coach Tottenham.
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