JOSE MOURINHO has accepted defeat in his quest to prioritise one competition this season.
But Tottenham’s boss is getting ready to revolutionise his squad this summer.
Jose set for transfer warCredit: EPA
Spurs’ crippling injury list has hit the club hard and exposed Mourinho to criticism over his methods.
Heading into today’s teatime clash at Burnley, embattled Spurs are on a four- match losing run.
After the FA Cup KO on penalties against Norwich, Mourinho vowed to talk to the club and decide whether he should prioritise today’s clash or Tuesday’s Champions League second leg with RB Leipzig.
No such showdown has taken place with chairman Daniel Levy, as Mourinho accepts they have no choice but to go full tilt in both matches despite his threadbare squad showing signs of running on empty.
But the Special One has made it clear Spurs must spend big in the summer because they simply cannot be caught short by injuries again.
Mourinho said: “I know the priority, I do not need a specific day to have a specific discussion with the boss.
“We are together every day. I don’t need to have a discussion, we just need to share our ideas.
“We feel the same. We know that the players are tired, the injured players. We know we have to build a squad more balanced for next season.
“You have to be ready to cope with these unpredictable things.
“We need to have a different shape to the squad to be ready for these unexpected things that happen to us.
“But we all know we have to try to win tomorrow and try to win on Tuesday.
“If we don’t then we leave, like we did in the last match against Norwich. We leave, we sleep in peace, sad, but we sleep in peace then the next day, we go again.”
Mourinho has never suffered a run of four successive defeats, and with Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Moussa Sissoko still absent he has few options to make any changes.
It is putting huge pressure on the remaining players, who have all been consulted by the management team to see if they have the energy to go again against the Clarets.
To a man, the entire squad have stood up to be counted — but some have admitted they are close to running on empty.
They include new signing Steven Bergwijn and Lucas Moura, who are having to shoulder a huge workload.
Crocked Spurs star Harry KaneCredit: Reuters
Mourinho added: “Some people are critical of me because I am repeating the same comments all the time so I don’t want to repeat the same things.
“Obviously people are tired to listen to it but the run of injuries this club had this season, starting with Hugo Lloris and ending with Sonny, is something really crazy.
“But again we have to prepare ourselves for something similar to happen again and we have to build a squad that protects against this kind of situation.
“We are in a situation where I think it is very hard to prioritise. But it is a discussion to have internally. The communication with the players is always the most important thing.
“Some players over the last 120 minutes have run more than 15km.
“We know we are going to play against players who have had a week preparing for the match.
“We have decisions to make. Of course we want to win tomorrow and the tie on Tuesday but we have to find a way where we give some players a better chance to perform.
“I love the player who says ‘I am available for everything you want and everything you need.’
“But there comes a ‘but’ and after the but comes: ‘I need a rest’.
“We have to analyse the but. But it is fantastic for me.
“I am so happy to be here — it is fantastic to work with boys like them.
“It’s not like I’m saying our squad is not good. The squad is good. At this moment we are in trouble. It’s so simple as that.”
Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho says he was a lazy football player in his youth
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
