Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Serge Aurier has claimed that the dressing room was generally not a happy place during Jose Mourinho’s time in charge due to one particular factor.
The Ivory Coast international has revealed that there were issues with Mourinho’s assistant coach Joao Sacramento and his interactions with the players.
Aurier admitted that he was no impressed with the approach that Sacramento took during his role at the north London club, claiming that the Portuguese was not experienced and when he was out of the team, wanted a coach who would be supportive rather than be negative.
The Athletic claimed last week that Sacramento was generally unpopular among the playing staff at Tottenham, having failed to connect with the squad on a personal level and instead wanted to stamp his authority and mirror Mourinho’s mood.
Aurier saw his contract terminated by mutual consent with the Premier League outfit at the end of August and went on to join La Liga side, Villarreal, on a free transfer.
He told The Telegraph: “Football is different compared to 10 years ago,”
“He [Mourinho] is still a great coach, but there are things that have evolved. Sometimes players need more love and attention. I’m not speaking for José, I’m speaking for his assistant. Joao is a tough guy and he didn’t have a good relationship with the dressing room, that’s why everything deteriorated. There was a lack of good communication.
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“It was one of his first experiences in a first team and he lacked calm with the players,” Aurier added.
“He needed to be more concerned about the person behind the player. Sometimes when you don’t play a lot of s— goes through your head, and you need someone to calm you down and help you, to give you good vibes, not to send you negative messages. And I think it all started there.”
SpursWeb Opinion
It appears that Antonio Conte’s backroom staff are much more in tune with the Tottenham squad which is clear to see from their interactions, especially during training ground footage or when coming off the field following a victory.
The Mourinho era at Tottenham was nothing short of a disaster with Levy having gambled to have brought a serial winner to the club in place of Mauricio Pochettino with no progress made.
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