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Jose Mourinho sounds thrilled when discussing a ‘strong’ aspect of his Tottenham Hotspur squad. The team beat Ludogorets on Thursday evening.
Jose Mourinho talked up his team’s strong squad depth on Thursday after a 3-1 win over Ludogorets. Harry Kane and Lucas Moura assisted one another for two goals before half-time before Tottenham Hotspur conceded in the 50th minute.
Giovani Lo Celso wrapped up the win just after the hour mark, however, as Spurs moved top of their group on goal difference.
This wasn’t a full-strength team, either. Lo Celso started, for one, while Kane made way for Carlos Vinicius at half-time. Joe Hart played in goal and Sergio Reguilon made way for Ben Davies.
And Mourinho was quick to point out how tough the situation is for the squad players.
“There are players that clearly by the way they perform they give no chance to other players in that position because they are so, so, so strong in their performances,” he said, per the Standard.
“People who are not playing regularly must feel that every minute they are on the pitch is a minute to prove, is a minute to enjoy, is to give the maximum.”
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Mourinho must be thrilled at this – it’s a managers dream. Spurs have got decent squad depth but having players so good that they’re a ‘problem’ for the others is ideal.
It means that as long as those squad players have got the right mentality, the standards will just keep rising. And you can see Mourinho trying to instil that mentality with his words here.
He wants those squad players to fight an impossible fight every time they’re on the pitch. Vinicius, for instance, needs to try and unseat Kane – something he probably won’t do.
But if Mourinho can inspire him to try, then he guarantees extra effort every time the Brazilian is on the pitch. Do that with everyone and Mourinho has a squad who will push their limits week in, week out.
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