SAN FRANCISCO, October 19, (THEWILL) – José Mourinho, manager of English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur, has claimed his side lacked the mental strength required to preserve their lead in Sunday’s 3-3 draw with West Ham.
Spurs led 3-0 early on as on-form striker Harry Kane and his South Korean mate Son Heung-min ran the show from kick-off. But three Hammers’ goals inside the last eight minutes, including a stunning injury-time strike from Manuel Lanzini, ensured the points were shared.
THEWILL thought, with the impressive results Spurs had secured from recent games like the 7-2 bashing of Maccabi Haifa in the UEFA Europa League and the 6-1 trouncing of Manchester United in their last Premier League outing before the international break, Spurs were likely to take the Hammers for a hammering having netted three goals in just 18 minutes into the match.
In fact, that much Mourinho admitted when he expressed how bitterly disappointed he was to see his side give up the win so late on. And drop precious points so carelessly.
“I think you can imagine how frustrated I am and how frustrated the players are, but that’s football,” the Portuguese Spurs manager said. “Unfortunately it’s football for us in a negative way and in a positive way for them, but that’s football. It’s easier for me to praise them than criticise us. It’s easier for me to analyse internally and discuss with the players than speak about it and my feelings now.
“The game was under control, we had chances to score a fourth goal. Not deliberately, but the team were dropping, with Winks we found balance again and were in control.
“It was exactly when we were in control that we conceded the first and their belief went up. My guys were not strong enough to cope with it psychologically. The last few seconds we lost two points.”
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Mourinho, however insisted that his charges did not get complacent and he also made it abundantly clear that the excitement surrounding Gareth Bale’s return to the club from Spanish giants Real Madrid did not impact his players either.
“The decision not to start him was I think a good decision,” Mourinho added. “A decision to show that he doesn’t have a beautiful chair waiting for him in the team and he sits there the first time he can. It was a message to the team that in this team everybody has to fight for positions.
“He’s very well accepted in the group. Everyone likes him, and I believe he also likes what he found here. So everything is positive and the focus was not on him. The focus was on the game and he was on the bench for 65 minutes or so and I don’t think so, I don’t think at all.
“It’s a pity that he couldn’t score that fourth goal which was a beauty and would have killed the game. But that’s football.”
Tottenham’s next game is an UEFA Europa League fixture at home against the Austrian club Linzer Athletik-Sport-Klub, simply known as LASK. They compete in the Austrian Bundesliga and are domiciled in the Austrian state capital, Linz.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
