Rio Ferdinand heaps praise on Jose Mourinho for Tottenham tactics rejig

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Rio Ferdinand has told BT Sport that he believes Jose Mourinho deserves credit for making an early substitution fter Olympiacos went 2-0 up against Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday night in the Champions League.

Spurs were staring defeat in the face and an uphill task to qualify for the last 16 after conceding two early goals to Olympiacos. It saw Mourinho make the brave decision to take off Eric Dier in the 20th minute – in just his second Spurs match.

The change worked wonders, as Christian Eriksen’s presence gave Spurs a much more creative look. Dele Alli’s first-half injury-time goal gave Spurs the basis to go and secure all three points in the second 45.

Harry Kane notched a brace while Serge Aurier scored with an excellent first-time finish. Rio Ferdinand stated that Mourinho will be concerned that four goals have been conceded in two games, but applauded his bravery to remove Dier.

“I think there’s many things to work on, but Jose knew that,” Ferdinand said. “He’s conceded four foals in two games against lesser opposition and that will be a concern of his.

“But what I would say is that he deserves credit for the early substitution he made. Yes it is unfortunate for Dier, but he needed more creativity on the pitch. He brought Eriksen on and the game was galvanised.”

TBR’s view – How can Mourinho shore up his defence?

Against West Ham, it was a case of switching off after going 3-0 up. Game management was not good enough – but it was that, rather than the defence making mistakes. Against Olympiacos, Spurs did not get going until Eriksen came on.

Rather than making a tactical switch, Mourinho must drill into his players that a football match is 90 minutes. His side cannot turn up for periods of the game, they must be on it from the first whistle to the last.

Paulo Gazzaniga was perhaps at fault slightly for both of Olympiacos’ goals and Angelo Ogbonna’s effort on the weekend. The Argentine could also do with a kick up the backside in the next few days.