Former Spurs coach accuses Mourinho’s critics of going over the top

Former Tottenham midfielder and first-team coach Gus Poyet has leapt to the defence of Jose Mourinho after claiming that a lot of the criticism aimed at the Portuguese recently is unwarranted.

Tottenham initially had a complete turn around in form after Mourinho replaced Mauricio Pochettino as head coach in November and managed to get back themselves back into the race for the top four.

They have also done well to progress to the round of 16 stages of both the FA Cup and the Champions League.

However, results have suffered in the past month with the side appearing to have struggled without the services of Harry Kane, Heung-min Son and even Christian Eriksen.

The Lilywhites have adopted a defensive approach in their past few games in the absence of their two main attackers, a tactic which is yet to pay dividends.

Mourinho has been criticised over the tactics he has employed in recent weeks (ESPN FC), with former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson even insisting that Spurs look devoid of any game plan at the moment.

In response to the criticism the 57-year-old has been receiving, Poyet told The Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast Show on talkSPORT (25/02/20 at 9:15 am): “I think he’s (Mourinho’s) not doing so bad, especially if you think he doesn’t have Harry Kane. There’s one manager with Harry and then there’s a different manager without Harry Kane.

“The problem with Jose is it’s so much news for everyone, it’s so much coming with the manager that every time there is something not perfect or not winning. [Then] boom! We’ll come in and we will throw everything at Jose Mourinho because [they think] something is not right.

“I think we are a little over the top sometimes with him because of his personality and the way he is. But I think we have to give him a chance. He has just started. He’s totally different to Pochettino. The absolute opposite in terms of playing. They are missing massive players, especially up front, so we have to give him the time.”

Spurs Web Opinion

Until Harry Kane was fit, I thought that our style of football was actually quite effective and fun to watch. However, after losing both Kane and Son, Mourinho has decided that defending deep and counter-attacking is the best way of getting points. It is unfair to criticise him for our style of play until he has a preseason under his belt and with our two best players unavailable.

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