LONDON, Feb 24 — Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho said on Tuesday that being older and wiser has given him better perspective on how to deal with the club’s recent run of poor results because his younger self would have floundered under such intense pressure.
Mourinho had said a top-four finish in the Premier League was looking increasingly difficult after his side were beaten 2-1 at West Ham United on Sunday for their fifth defeat in their last six league games. They are ninth in the standings, nine points adrift of fourth-placed West Ham.
The Portuguese has managed 81 points in his first 50 league games for Spurs since replacing Mauricio Pochettino — his lowest haul at the same stage of any of his managerial stints at Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Manchester United.
Asked ahead of Wednesday’s Europa League last-32 second leg with Wolfsberger how a young Mourinho would have coped with the team’s form, the 58-year-old told reporters: “Thank God I’m not the manager I was.
“Because if there’s no evolution in us... I would not be as calm and confident and in control of my emotions because in my career I had sometimes problems not in relation to results... I did not have many bad runs of results.
“But with day-to-day problems that happen in clubs with all of us I reacted previously in a more emotional way and instead of helping myself and the ones around me, I was creating a kind of conflict situation.”
Mourinho said that he would be in Tottenham’s history “for the good reasons, not the bad reasons.”
“I lose a game, of course I’m not happy. But maturity helps... I believe we’re going to improve,” he added.
“I always feel I have to give them so much and the fact I’m giving them hard work but not results is something that hurts me and is a great challenge because I believe I can give it... I’m more motivated than ever.” — Reuters
