JOSE MOURINHO may be taking charge of his first game in charge of Tottenham tonight – not that you would know it.
Spurs host Olympiakos at White Hart Lane knowing full well that victory would secure them a place in the Champions League knockout stages for the third year in a row.
Spurs made little fuss over it being Jose Mourinho’s first home game as bossCredit: EPA
Mourinho – to his credit – has reiterated time and time again over the past seven days that it is not all about him.
And it appears he was telling the truth, surprisingly enough.
Looking at tonight’s programme, there was nothing to suggest this was the Portuguese’s home debut at all as Erik Lamela, Paulo Gazzaniga and Giovanni Lo Celso took centre stage on the cover.
In fact, from looking at the programme – just like in the ground – one would be hard-pressed to work out this was anything but a regular home game under the lights.
Even Mourinho’s first set of programme notes were relatively tame by his standards, as he sandwiched talk of Saturday’s win over West Ham with some pleasantries about joining the club.
He wrote: “I cannot wait to take my seat in the home dugout this evening for the first time at this fantastic stadium, which I believe to be the best around.
“I have made no secret of my admiration for Tottenham Hotspur over the past few years.
“Everybody has made me and my staff feel so welcome since we arrived almost a week ago.
“We could not be happier with how everything has gone so far and now we are looking forward to sharing our first home game with you all tonight.”
It may be exactly a week since the news broke of Mauricio Pochettino’s sacking, but he does at least get an honourable mention from Moussa Sissoko.
Interviewed in the programme, he was quick to acknowledge and appreciate all the Argentine did in North London – but then turned his attention to a new era at the club.
The Tottenham programme didn’t didn’t have much space for Jose Mourinho or Mauricio Pochettino
Poch was sacked a week ago after more than five years in chargeCredit: @jesus_perez
He said: “We were all disappointed to hear the news. Not one player likes that sort of situation where a manager leaves because that sometimes means we as players haven’t done enough on the pitch.
“First of all we would like to say thank you to Mauricio for everything. He has done a lot for the club so we thank him for everything he has done. What he did and what he achieved here was amazing and we wish him all the best for the future.
“It’s a new start now though. Jose’s a big coach, he’s won so many titles with different teams and you can see he has a lot of experience, so I think it will be good working with him.
“Everyone knows him, although no-one in the squad has worked with him before. What we know is he works with passion, he wants to win, and he has won a lot.
“Hopefully he’ll bring his previous success here – like we always say, we want to win trophies and if we can that with him, that’ll be great.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
