Their league title hopes long lost, the Tottenham Hotspur of Jose Mourinho are now fading fast from the top four race. Losers of five of their last six in the league, it might not be long before they even fall out of contention for the Europa League qualification positions.
While admitting a ton of frustation in his side, and conveying the amount of “sadness” this Spurs team possesses, two things he’s already said previously this season, Mourinho dismissed the idea that his squad is in a crisis.
“If crisis is frustration and sadness in the dressing room then I believe so and I think we all showed that,” Mourinho said at after losing a 2-1 London derby at West Ham.
“When a team fights the way the team did in trying to get a different result it’s never a group crisis. A group crisis is when you’re not together. I would say it’s a bad run of results.”
Now nine points behind the pace of the top four and sitting ninth in the table, Mourinho’s team is just two points ahead of arch-rivals Arsenal, and well, you know what kind of season Mikel Arteta is having over at the Emirates club.
Today marked the first time that a David Moyes side beat a Jose Mourinho coached team, and this was the 16th time that they have gone head to head on the touchline.
It’s starting to feel like Mourinho is having a third season syndrome, in year two, and if that’s the case, he won’t be long for this job. Expect the Mourinho getting sacked odds to be slashed soon.
When asked if he’s had any doubt for his coaching methods amid this poor run of results, Mourinho responded: “No, not at all. The results are the consequences of multi-situations in football. Mine and my coaching staff methods are second to nobody in the world.”
If Jose Mourinho and his backroom staff aren’t the issue here, then what is? The roster of players? Spurs got off to a hot start this season, whethering the September scheduling storm with aplomb. League title contenders early on, those times feel like ancient history right now.
Still alive in the Europa League round of 32 and having advanced to the EFL Cup final, set for April, all is not totally lost this campaign. However, overall it’s a pretty big mess and there are certainly no easy answers as to how to go about fixing it.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.