Opinion: Jose Mourinho isn't to blame for Spurs' downfall
Jose Mourinho is most definitely a legendary manager and has won trophies everywhere he has gone, including a Champions League with Porto and three Premier League titles with Chelsea. But, things haven't worked out at Tottenham Hotspur so far for the former Inter and Real Madrid coach despite his history of success.
And this will worry Spurs fans who have seen their side go from a Champions League final to exiting the same competition in the first knockout game in the space of 9 months. This has resulted in the dismissal of the acclaimed Mauricio Pochettino who led Spurs to new heights before the team dramatically plummeted to the bottom half of the table prior to his dismissal.
The Argentine's exit paved the way for Jose Mourinho's return to management with a Spurs side in desperate need of rejuvenation. However, fast forward 4 months and Spurs have barely progressed and sit 7 points away from the top 4 under a manager who was meant to take the North Londoners to the exalted levels that they were once at. This begs the question, is Mourinho to blame for how Spurs have regressed? And the simple answer to that question is, no.
Mourinho has done the best with what he's got at Spurs with several injuries to key players leaving his attack almost non-existent with even January arrival, Steven Bergwijn picking up an unfortunate injury that ruled him out for the rest of the season.
The Dutchman joins the likes of Harry Kane, Heung-Min Son and Moussa Sissoko on a lengthy injury list that has played a pivotal part in a disappointing campaign for last season's Champions League finalists. Mourinho, himself, has recently stressed Spurs' injury woes, stating that every player on the Leipzig bench would start in the current injury struck Spurs team. The manager inherited a squad already struggling for form and confidence before the injury issues reared their head.
This could be more of a dig towards certain players in the squad; however, with the likes of Tanguy Ndombele recently coming under fire for a lacklustre performance in midfield against Burnley.
Mourinho has built a reputation over the years of publicly calling out players when the performance levels don't reach the ever-so-high demands of the Portuguese manager, a demand many Spurs players have failed to reach during the former Chelsea man's tenure so far.
Mourinho will, however, feel as though next season will give Spurs the fresh start they desperately crave and the chance to welcome back a previously successful frontline. Next season may also give Mourinho a chance to implement his managerial identity on Spurs and even turn them into a winning team, something that he has done on so many occasions in the past.
