Mourinho says he does not want questions about Dele Alli after dire display
Jose Mourinho says he does not want to answer questions about Dele Alli after the Tottenham star was subbed at half-time in the defeat by Royal Antwerp.
Mourinho made nine changes to his side for the game in the Europa League, but he was left questioning those changes at full-time.
Dele Alli was handed just his third start of the season. The likes of Gareth Bale, Carlos Vinicius, Steven Bergwijn, Giovani Lo Celso and Harry Winks also took their places in the line-up.
Clearly frustrated by what he witnessed in Belgium, Mourinho admitted afterwards that he would have hooked all 11 players at half-time if he could.
In the end, Mourinho made four at half-time and his fifth and final change on 58 minutes as Spurs lost 1-0.
“I would like to make 11 [changes],” he admitted. “I didn’t make five as was afraid of a long 45 minutes.
“At half-time I tried to improve the situation but it was not enough. Second half we improved. In the end though Antwerp got what they deserved. The best team won and the worst team lost.”
Alli was one of those to be subbed off at half-time and his performance has cast a huge shadow over his Spurs future.
Having reportedly been close to leaving in the summer window, Alli failed to take his chance and now seems well down Mourinho’s pecking order.
Mourinho said: “I don’t want to analyse individuals. I don’t like to do that, especially with you. I think it is fair to say that players with bad performances they influence the team, but also the team influences individual performances. So it is not for me to individualise and to bring some names to the table.
“You prefer to do that than myself, before matches you always ask me why this player is not playing, why this player is not playing, why this player is not selected.
“Maybe now for a few weeks you don’t ask me that because you have the answer.”
Mourinho expects
Asked if it was difficult for players to come into a much-changed side, he said: “No.”
Should they hit the ground running? Jose was asked.
“Of course. Of course. That’s what I want from the players, that’s what I expect from the players, especially when you’re a player with ambitions to be first choice, play in the most important matches and start every match, especially now in the Premier League.
“You have to show. That’s an obvious thing,” said Mourinho.
“Everybody works the same, trains the same, learns the same. We prepare every match with the same care, the same tactical work we did yesterday is the same we did before Burnley, before Manchester, before every match.
“So of course I expect. But again I go back to the beginning and it’s my responsibility to chose the players to play.”
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