Fixing Spurs’ midfield becoming one of Mourinho’s biggest tests

Ian Watson

Jose Mourinho could offer reasonable justification for Tottenham stuttering through the early weeks of his reign, and the new boss was certainly keen to make it known. “One thing that I am not having is time,” was one of the variations of the same theme that he kept returning to at the start of the month but ahead of “an incredible number of fixtures until the New Year,” Mourinho had a full week on the training ground to stamp his mark on the Spurs squad.

Which made what followed against Chelsea on Sunday all the more concerning. Mourinho and Spurs were out-thought and outfought by his former side led by a rookie manager in a defeat which laid bare the size of the task at the White Hart Lane. There they returned on Boxing Day and their performance was not much better.

Certainly not in the first period against Brighton. The Seagulls deserved their half-time lead given to them by the concession of another set-piece goal. But it was no smash-and-grab job from Graham Potter’s men, whose intensity and organisation put the hosts’ absence of such in even sharper focus.

There was little more Mourinho could have done at the done at the break having already changed formation and personnel in the wake of that Chelsea defeat. But despite the revamp, Spurs still lacked energy and inspiration, appearing porous at the back and impotent up front.

The root of many of those problems, however, could be found in the middle where Harry Winks returned to partner Moussa Sissoko. The reasoning for Tanguy Ndombele’s omission wasn’t immediately clear and the apparent lack of an injury caused plenty of pre-match consternation over Mourinho’s approach with Spurs’ record signing. But rather than being the latest subject of Mourinho’s tough love, it seems that Ndombele is, once again, struggling for fitness or at least the appetite to play through pain.

There is certainly a role for the £54million signing in this Tottenham midfield should he ever achieve full fitness and, crucially, retain it. Whichever variation Mourinho – or Mauricio Pochettino before him – has used so far this season, Spurs have looked woefully soft-centred. Winks can pass; Sissoko can run, with and without the ball. Their credentials should complement each other. But rather than dovetail, each half of the midfield base seems intent on doing its own thing. In possession, there appears no understanding with the front four ahead of them but even more apparent is the absence of protection they provide for the defence behind them.

Mourinho will have no choice but to once more remodel his engine room at Norwich in a couple of days. Even if he wanted to persist with Winks and Sissoko, both collected reckless cautions – Winks was fortunate yellow did not become red – which means they will be suspended for the trip to Carrow Road. Ndombele should have enough in the tank though almost certainly not enough to paper over the cracks caused by Eric Dier’s involvement.

Mourinho really must make better use of the time he will get in the New Year to drag Spurs’ under-performers back to the level Daniel Levy expects because it seems the Spurs chairman doesn’t plan on bankrolling an expense overhaul of a squad this manager – and perhaps the last one too – played no part in building.

“We are never going to be the kings of the market,” said Mourinho before Brighton’s visit while warning supporters that Spurs will be reactive rather than proactive in the January window and those further down the line. Mourinho’s instinctive reaction to the struggles of his midfield would usually involve the purchase of different components. That, it seems, is not an option and a condition of his return to gainful employment appears to involve the acceptance of such an approach.

Mourinho will simply have to provoke a similar improvement from his midfielders as that he has teased from Dele Alli. Against Brighton, the playmaker was as passive as many of his team-mates for long periods before he came up with the game’s defining moment. His exquisite finish was a consequence of Christian Eriksen’s sublime driven pass to the far post and though Eriksen too has been ineffective too often, his contribution off the bench highlights what Spurs will have to replace when he inevitably leaves.

Mourinho and Giovani Lo Celso have half a season to work together to make the Argentina star a readymade replacement, but Harry Kane and Lucas Moura’s graft – showcased impressively in the second half – combined with Dele’s moments of inspiration mean the manager can afford to focus most of his energy on the foundations of his midfield. Mourinho will need every ounce of patience and persistence he can muster as well as the nous many believe he has lost to transform Spurs’ most glaring weakness into a unit capable of cracking the top four once more.

Ian Watson

F365 Says Jose Mourinho

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