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5 Feb, 2021 17:06

Mourinho feels ‘pressure’ after Spurs slump to ANOTHER loss against Chelsea as row breaks out over bizarre dig at female reporter

Mourinho feels ‘pressure’ after Spurs slump to ANOTHER loss against Chelsea as row breaks out over bizarre dig at female reporter

Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho has admitted that the pressure on him is rising after his side failed to impress in a home defeat to old club Chelsea, with the Portuguese also under fire for bizarre remarks made to a female reporter.

A first-half penalty from Jorginho was enough to hand Spurs their third successive Premier League defeat and their second home loss on the trot - the first time in Mourinho's entire Premier League career that he has emerged pointless from two successive home games. 

What was more worrying for Spurs fans, though, was the manner of performance. With an ankle injury depriving them of their captain and talisman Harry Kane for the next six weeks or so, Mourinho's side were toothless in attack as new boss Thomas Tuchel continued his impressive unbeaten start since taking the reigns from Frank Lampard in January. 

"I put pressure on myself every day," Mourinho said afterwards, assessing the loss. "I don't need others to put pressure on me.

"I put pressure on myself every day. Every day. So [I've gone] since 2012 without three defeats in a row? But since when without a title? Maybe I can give [Tottenham] one."

Spurs languish in eighth position in the Premier League table after the loss to Tuchel's Chelsea, making any talk of a title charge seem impossible.

But Mourinho will have an opportunity to claim his first silverware for the club in April when his side take on Manchester City in the EFL Cup Final. Spurs also secured their passage to the fifth round of the FA Cup when they beat lower league outfit Morecambe last month.

Add to that their continued presence in the Europa League, in which they will play Wolfsburg in the first of two legs in the Round of 32, and Mourinho appears to have several opportunities to swell Tottenham's trophy cabinet this season.

The passive nature of their humbling first loss to London opposition of the season suggests that those goals remain a long way from realistically being achieved, though.

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"The reality is that, until the end of the month, we have great motivations in front of us. The Europa League is something that, since the beginning, we put a lot on," Mourinho explained.

"I cannot forget that we had to play how many games to qualify for the group phase, and games with two days in between, traveling around Europe to do it.

"So... the team is waiting for that, and maybe the squad needs that.

"But let’s focus on [the next game against] West Bromwich [Albion] because it’s the next match and as you say, after three defeats, we have to win [that]. We cannot even think a different thing."

The fallout from Thursday evening's defeat was felt further in Mourinho's reaction to a post-match question about why Gareth Bale, one of the more productive goalscorers in European football over the last five years, was left on the bench throughout - even while Spurs pushed forward for a late equalizer. 

The query, Mourinho said, wasn't worthy of a reply.

"Good question, but you don’t deserve an answer," said Mourinho, offering little clues as to the barbs evident in his reply. 

Some critics compared the altercation to Mourinho's infamous altercation with female physio Eva Carneiro during his ill-fated second spell at Chelsea.

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Mourinho was cleared of using discriminatory language towards Carneiro following an investigation by the Football Association, but his furious reaction as she contributed to the stoppage of a game to treat an injured player at a point when Chelsea were pushing for a goal was an unedifying flash of temper.

The incident garnered gallons of newspaper ink being spilled across red tops' back pages - and some suggest it contributed to his sacking from the club just months later.

It remains to be see which direction Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy will decide to take - but it appears clear that the warning signs are piling up.

Also on rt.com Mour mind games: Mourinho claims ‘it’s not very difficult to manage Chelsea’ as he fires early shots at Tuchel before derby
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