‘He’s very funny’ – Erik Lamela opens up on how he is finding life under Jose Mourinho

Jose Mourinho was named the new Tottenham Hotspur boss under 24 hours after Mauricio Pochettino was fired from the position back in late November.

Although the Lilywhites’ form improved immediately after the Portuguese coach arrived at the club, results dropped off considerably at the start of the calendar year.

However, it can be argued that Mourinho has not been helped by the injury issues that Tottenham have suffered, with the likes of Harry Kane, Heung-min Son, Tanguy Ndombele, Steven Bergwijn, Hugo Lloris, Ben Davies, and more suffering from problems.

There are some reports suggesting that the former Chelsea and Manchester United boss has a troubled relationship with a few players in the Tottenham dressing room (Sun). However, this has been dismissed by both Dier (BBC Sport) and Alderweireld (Standard).

Erik Lamela has become the latest first-team player to sing Mourinho’s praises as the Argentine revealed that the players are enjoying working with the 57-year-old.

When asked about Mourinho’s reputation for being tough, Lamela told Stadium Astro (as relayed by the Mirror): “No for me it’s good. I’m enjoying it at the moment.

“It’s true that since he arrived I’ve been injured, so that period was difficult because I wanted to play, I wanted to show the manager that I wanted to be in the team.

“It was difficult for me in the first two or three weeks that he was in. But after I enjoy. I think it’s very good to play for him. I know all the team we know him, we know what he wants and the type of person that he is.

“He’s showing every day that he’s a normal person, so we are very happy with him.”

When asked if Mourinho cracks jokes with the players, the 28-year-old added: “Yes, for me he’s very funny.”

Spurs Web Opinion

While Mourinho has a reputation for being very demanding of his players, the one thing that has always been a constant in his career, apart from his spell at Manchester United, is that his players generally love playing for him. He knows how to press people’s buttons and also how to earn their trust. It will be a great test to his man-management skills to see if he can get the best out of Tanguy Ndombele next season.

Related Topics