As is customary with every pre-match press conference, Jose Mourinho was once again asked about Dele Alli this afternoon ahead of the Europa League match tomorrow night.
Dele has been forced to make do with second-tier Europa League outings so far this season, with his last Premier League start coming on the opening day defeat against Everton.
The attacking midfielder seems to be out of favour with the Spurs head coach, struggling to even make the matchday squad in the league.
However, Mourinho has now assured fans and the press that he has no problems with Dele or any of his other players, simply stating that they are happy when they play and unhappy when they are left out.
The Special One used Ben Davies as a prime example of someone who performs at a professional level no matter whether he starts or plays the final five minutes, urging his fringe players to take their chances when they come.
Mourinho said (Football London): “The ones who aren’t playing much time in their mind have only one thing to do and that is to show in the minutes they have that they should be playing.
“I don’t have any problem with Dele. I don’t have any problems with any of them. My players are happy when they play and not happy when they don’t play. I don’t blame my players. It’s only to improve their situation by using every minute they have to improve their position.
“The concept above everything is the concept that the team is more important than any of us. The example is Ben Davies. Against Chelsea, he played five minutes and last season he’d play 90 minutes. But he played those 90 minutes like they were the last five minutes of his career.”
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