It’s vital Tottenham bounce back straight away at Aston Villa on Sunday following two miserable displays in massive games.
Thursday night’s woeful showing against Dinamo Zagreb somehow managed to eclipse the derby disappointment. As a result, the last few days provoke so many questions about the manager and players, about their ability in tandem to make something of a season in danger of unravelling.
For a start, is the relationship good enough between the two parties? Do the players still believe in Jose Mourinho’s methods, in his brand of training and tactics? From what I hear, training is nowhere near as intense as under Mauricio Pochettino, a man who captivated the squad with his inspiring techniques.
Life was actually more physically taxing under the Argentine coach. Players, for instance, were obligated to go through a 45-minute warm-up routine in the gym before training. Mourinho, in contrast, leaves that up to the individual. Once out on the pitch, sessions are now more measured than the frantic hour overseen by Pochettino and his trusted friend, Jesus Perez.
Players might moan at the time about double sessions and the like, but it’s hard to keep complaining when results start to come. And for a good four years we saw those results of Pochettino’s style. We saw what could happen when a group of talented players believe in their leader and where he is taking them. Granted, the journey didn’t quite end with silverware, but you can’t deny the hold Pochettino had.
Such a connection, in fairness, seems to have loosened under Mourinho, that’s if it ever existed to the same degree. The modern-day footballer needs to be invigorated by daily training in an age when attention spans have shortened. Continually practising defensive shape doesn’t cut it these days. If boredom sets in, concentration wanders and the session is wasted.
It’s convenient to conclude that Mourinho’s methods are old fashioned and that he’s been overtaken by younger coaches using innovative techniques. The German posse for instance — men such as Jurgen Klopp, Thomas Tuchel and Julian Nagelsmann — differ considerably when it comes to coaching styles and man-management skills.
The big challenge for Mourinho is to prove that his own way still works in this era. More immediately, he’s got to show at Villa Park that he can bring back his players from the brink, that he can lift them to go again.
Sometimes, it’s impossible to recover from displays like last night. The dressing room gets fractured as people start looking after themselves.
Something similar, we hear, happened at Old Trafford in Mourinho’s last months. The next few weeks should flag up any impending repeat.
