Gary Neville suggests one Spurs player’s body language has changed over the past year

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Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho has been praised by Gary Neville, who admits he’s changing his mind “dramatically” about how Spurs are progressing under him.

The Sky Sports pundit also spoke of Harry Kane’s body language, suggesting it gave an aura of uncertainty early on in the Portuguese’s tenure, while now, the player is looking “really brilliant”.

On 19 November last year, Tottenham parted company with Mauricio Pochettino and, the following day, announced that Mourinho had been handed the Spurs reins.

His appointment prompted a mixed reaction by the fanbase, some delighted by the arrival of a world-renowned manager with a stellar CV, others unsure he’d be able to build on Pochettino’s work.

One year on and Tottenham are in a great place, a much-improved squad sitting top of the Premier League with 21 goals scored from nine games and just nine conceded, and also doing well in the Europa League and still in the League Cup.

In addition, Spurs outlined their title credentials with a superb, hard-fought and clinical 2-0 victory over Manchester City at the weekend, Son Heung-min and Giovani Lo Celso scoring with the team’s only two shots on target.

“I have to say that for a period under Jose Mourinho I didn’t feel as though Spurs had an identity,” Neville said on the Gary Neville Podcast.

“They almost looked like a team in transition out of a really good style of play under Pochettino, into a style that was different and wasn’t being taken on board by the players.

“I will be that critical – I thought it was a case of ‘they’re not having this’. I watched Harry Kane’s body language in the early Mourinho era and thought: ‘I’m not sure this is going to work’.

“I have to say, I’m changing my mind dramatically, because I’m now watching a really brilliant Harry Kane that’s playing differently and Mourinho is getting the most out of him, in a different position, he’s adding more to his game, and the team look really up for it and they fancy the challenge.”

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Mourinho’s appointment certainly didn’t go down well with sections of the Spurs fanbase last year, but the former Chelsea and Manchester United boss has proven those critics wrong.

Likewise, Kane is looking better than ever, and those who suggested the striker would struggle under Mourinho and could even consider his future are looking quite foolish now.