Jose Mourinho issues statement to dismiss newspaper reports

Jose Mourinho has issued a statement dismissing claims earlier today that he wanted to delay the return of the Premier League campaign.

The Mirror reported that Mourinho wanted to delay the resumption of the season amid concerns over the fitness of this players.

The Mirror also claimed that the Tottenham head coach dismissed concerns of his fellow Premier League managers and instead told bosses in the recent League Managers’ Association meeting to ‘stay home and watch Bundesliga’ as preparations continue for the return of top flight football.

The Portuguese has insisted that he is desperate for the campaign to return as possible in a safe manner whilst praising his Spurs players for the way in which they have maintained their fitness levels throughout the lockdown period.

The Spurs players have been training remotely using video conferencing software and more recently conducting isolated running sessions at the club’s Hotspur Way training facility in a safe manner.

Football in Germany is to resume this weekend with the Bundesliga hosting a full schedule of fixtures.

Mourinho said as quoted by Alasdair Gold: “I don’t think my position in the meeting has been reflected fairly at all today in media reports. I have not asked for any delay.

“I want to train, and I am desperate for the Premier League to return as soon as it is safe to do so, particularly now we are seeing other leagues preparing to return to action.

“I am extremely proud of the way my players have maintained their fitness – they have shown great professionalism, passion and dedication.

“We have all been working extremely hard through remote squad training sessions and isolated running now the pitches are available to use again at the training centre.

“Every player has been extremely committed in terms of their individual work and now we wait for clearance to commence working in small groups again, which I will fully support.”