Former Spurs player insists Mourinho’s style does not suit some of Tottenham’s squad

Former Tottenham midfielder David Bentley believes that Jose Mourinho’s negative approach to games does not bring out the best of some of the Tottenham squad.

The midfielder also insisted that Spurs fans will not be accepting of the style that the boss wants to employ with it having a negative effect on the likes of Heung-min Son and Erik Lamela.

Mourinho has come under fairly heavy criticism from parts of the media since coming to North London for setting the side up defensively (ESPN FC), as opposed to his predecessor at Spurs, Mauricio Pochettino, under whom Spurs often took the game to the opposition.

The same was true during Bentley’s time at the club when Harry Redknapp was in charge.

With Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon out wide and the likes of Luka Modric and Rafael van der Vaart in the middle of the park, Spurs played some swashbuckling football that had fans on their feet.

Bentley believes it is difficult for Tottenham fans to accept a counter-attacking style after what they were used to under Redknapp and Pochettino.

He told 888Sport: “Tottenham and especially the fans – I know hundreds of them – are used to entertaining football.

“They want their players to express themselves and they want that kind of football.

“They have been spoilt with that kind of football and through Redknapp and Poch they have enjoyed a successful period and seen some good football.

“A lot of it has been front-foot football, pressing from the front whereas Mourinho’s teams sit deeper and spring from that and it’s a different way of playing.

“I can see why that frustrates because playing deeper is a bit boring.

“This is the method he sets his teams up and they sit in banks and spring from that and I don’t think it suits the players like Son and Lamela.”

Spurs Web Opinion

While it is true that Spurs fans have been used to front-foot football, those who have been supporting us since the nineties have also been used to absolutely dire, defensive and boring football as well. Our style of play under Mourinho is infinitely better than the football we played through the nineties as well in the early 2000s.

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