Mourinho shuts down reporters about contract situations of trio

New Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho has several problems to solve in order to get Spurs back to where they belong.

The team has struggled to keep clean sheets and have repeatedly relinquished leads so far this season. The Lilywhites have also failed to win a Premier League game away from home since January.

While the defensive problems and performance-related issues are quite important, perhaps the biggest challenge the Portuguese faces is fixing the contract disputes that seemed to be rife at the club.

Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, and Christian Eriksen will see their contracts run out at the end of the season while Danny Rose has already admitted that he plans to run his contract down and leave on a free (The Telegraph).

When quizzed about the contract problems at Spurs during the press conference on Thursday, Mourinho insisted that he is not concerned with the individual contract cases for the moment but assured Tottenham’s stars that he will help them find a solution that makes them happy.

Speaking to Football.London, the new Spurs manager said, “It is too early. Early days. I have no time for individual cases. I don’t know how I can influence or try to influence. I did not have time. Mr Levy did not have time to go around this.

“The first thing is for the players to feel good and if they are going to leave in January, if they are going to leave in June, or if they are going to sign a new contract, I think everything has to be based on feeling good. And to feel good is to be ready for Saturday. To be there and available for the team.

“Jan can’t do because of injury. Then it is about the club, about them, about me, about Mr Levy but fundamentally it is about players to be happy.

“You have to be happy to choose what makes you happy. Let’s see. In this moment let’s go in the short term and in the short term we have to try to get two results in the next two matches.

“Because it is important in the Premier League we need to disappear from the area where we do not belong. In the Champions League we have two matches to qualify but if we can qualify after the first match, which will be my first match at home, would be better.”

Spurs Web Opinion

While he is obviously right to prioritize the upcoming matches, this is a situation that he will soon have to deal with and it will be interesting to see what happens. If Alderweireld and Eriksen do agree to sign a new contract, then perhaps the club’s decision to sack Pochettino would be vindicated.

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