TOTTENHAM BOSS Jose Mourinho has blamed his side’s defeat to Wolves on ‘mentality mistakes’.
The Special One made the comments during his post-match press conference following the 3-2 loss at home to Wolves.
Jose Mourinho watches on with concern during the 3-2 home defeat to WolvesCredit: Reuters
Spurs led twice during the game to Nuno Espirito Santo’s side but fell short in North London thanks to a Raul Jimenez winner.
Mourinho told Match of the Day: ”I think it’s unfair. The players didn’t deserve the defeat.
”We were punished by, I would say, mentality mistakes. You have to be ruthless against teams like Wolves that play fantastically well on the counter-attack.”
The result means Wolves move above Spurs in the table and boost their own hopes of a Champions League spot.
They are now sixth, three points behind Chelsea in fourth, while Tottenham sit in seventh.
Mourinho went on to add: ”We deserve much more than these results but this is what it is. The front three combined well, they did what they can.
”They did the plan that we worked on in the week. We had lots of arrivals in dangerous positions, but it is quite frustrating to see they don’t have that feeling.”
Dele Alli reacting after heading the ball wide and missing chance to give Spurs a 3-1 leadCredit: Reuters
Despite the blow, both teams still have a good chance of qualifying for Europe’s premier competition and that would be made easier if rivals Manchester City have their continental ban upheld.
Wolves, who are now level on points with Manchester United on 28, can also book their place in the Europa League.
Tottenham are back in action on Wednesday as they welcome Norwich in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
They then take a trip to Burnley in the return of the Premier League next weekend.
Mourinho’s men are in a striker crisis with Harry Kane,, who should be finally making a return in the next six weeks’ time, out with a hamstring injury
Son Heung-Min is also out following arm surgery, leaving their attack vulnerable.
The South Korean star has also been forced to self-quarantine and isolate himself for two weeks after visiting his home country for the surgery.
On the Portuguese’s choice of players on Sunday, Mourinho backed his men regardless of the result, telling MOTD: ”I tried to play with Davinson [Sanchez] and Japhet Tanganga, which are the two fastest players.
”Dier is because he is a midfield player, he has the possibility to come out with the ball and play as an extra midfield player.
”I thought they did very well apart from the goals, which are collective responsibility, not individual responsibility.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk