A number of players in Tottenham’s locker room are growing frustrated with manager Jose Mourinho’s continued willingness to throw them under the boss after a poor result.
Mourinho has regularly blasted his side to continue to make costly individual mistakes and divert any of the blame that comes his way, and he summed up the whole situation perfectly after the recent 2-2 draw with Newcastle.
Mourinho blamed his squad for falling against Newcastle | Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA / Getty Images
Asked why Mourinho had lost his ability to defend lead in matches, the Spurs manager replied brutally: “Same coach, different players.”
It seems to have been the last straw for some of the Spurs players, as The Telegraph says that some in the locker room are tired of constantly blaming everything that goes wrong, and Mourinho refuses to take any responsibility.
While the Spurs squad will be well aware that they have not reached the heights expected of them this season, they want more support from their boss and not to become a scapegoat as soon as something goes wrong.
There is also plenty of confusion over Mourinho’s reason for leaving midfielder Toby Alderweireld against Newcastle.
Mourinho claimed (via The Times) that the Belgian had only returned from international service the day before the match and therefore could not take a COVID-19 test before the match, but Alderweireld was seen in videos of club training on Thursday, Friday and Saturday before the match.
The possibility that Mourinho is making a real mistake has not been ruled out, but given the current feeling towards the boss, many players do not give him the benefit of the doubt.
Alderweireld was nowhere to be seen against Newcastle | Sebastian Frej / MB Media / Getty Images
It is unclear how President Daniel Levy has reacted to the growing hostility. He previously supported the squad and fired former boss Mauricio Pochettino, but whether he is willing to pay to force Mourinho out early remains to be seen.
It is understood that Mourinho’s replacement figures may vary depending on many clauses, with the manager entitled to less money if he does not guide Spurs to European competition.
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