JOSE MOURINHO says he named two 16-year-olds as Tottenham subs at Aston Villa on Sunday as a warning to his under-achieving senior stars.
England Under-18 midfielder Alfie Devine and striker Dane Scarlett, who will be 17 on Wednesday, sat alongside superstars Gareth Bale and Dele Alli on the bench.
Harry Winkes was among the players to totally miss out on a place in the sqaud.
Mourinho made seven changes to the Spurs team following Thursday’s woeful 3-0 defeat ,and 3-2 Europa League elimination on aggregate, against Dinamo Zagreb.
And he again questioned the professionalism of established players.
Mourinho told Sky Sports: “I’m looking for a reaction, obviously. Two bad performances, two bad results – I feel we need a change.
“We need positivity, we need fresh minds and we need two 16-year-old kids on the bench to prove to the other guys that we’re looking to the future too.
“And if the kids have to play, the kids have to play. There’s no problem with that.”
Tottenham entered the game eighth, six points off the top four.
And Mourinho made it clear he has not been impressed with his flops’ attitudes in recent weeks.
He added: “My mentality is maybe strange in modern days.
“I am from this school that we should thank God every day for the job that we have.
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“And we should show every day these value that belong to some guys… not everybody has it.
“You can lose, but there are ways of losing and there are ways of being a professional.
“And my dream is that my people share my principals.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk