JOSE MOURINHO admits a killer striker is the missing part of the jigsaw at Tottenham.
But the Spurs boss does not seem to be in a hurry to find one.
jose Mourinho admits a killer striker is the missing part of the jigsaw at Tottenham
Mourinho’s men host Norwich tonight looking for a first Prem goal since star striker Harry Kane limped off in a 1-0 loss at Southampton on New Year’s Day.
The England captain is out until at least April after undergoing surgery on a ruptured tendon in his hamstring.
But Tottenham will face the Canaries with no recognised hitman as Mourinho looks to the likes of Son Heung-min, Lucas Moura, Dele Alli and Erik Lamela to provide the goals.
Mourinho said: “One thing is to try to create a puzzle where there are some missing pieces without quality players.
“Another is to do it with quality players and when I look to Son, to Lucas, to Dele, Lamela, they are quality players.
“We try and I believe we are going to improve. The team is playing OK in spite of the fact that we don’t have that killer player which guarantees you a certain amount of goals.
“Without playing with that guy that is great in the box, that holds the ball under pressure, that is good in the air. We don’t have that profile of player but we can do it. We can do it.”
Tottenham’s failure to bring in a striker has left many of their fans mystified and miffed. But
Mourinho said: “You have to do something that is good for our future too, not just for tomorrow.
“The club is very committed but we want something that is right.
“So I don’t speak about players from other clubs about things that can happen or not as that’s not me and it’s not the way Tottenham operate. But we are trying to see if any opportunities arise.”
Tottenham have not won any of their last six Prem matches when Kane has been missing. But Mourinho is confident of ending that run against the Canaries.
He said: “I think we are going to win. With all due respect to Norwich and of course a game is an open result and anything can happen, obviously they can win but my feeling is we’re going to win.”
Many Tottenham fans would like to see Troy Parrott, 17, given a shot — just like defender Japhet Tanganga, 20.
Mourinho said: “We had a long conversation. He has potential. I think he needs to work a lot. He has a process to go through.
“It’s one thing being 17 and another being 20. Can Troy have minutes? Yes. But to give him the responsibility of replacing somebody, I don’t think he’s ready.”
Mourinho denied falling out with Danny Rose, who has missed Spurs’ last two.
Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho dismisses training ground bust up with Danny Rose
Jose said: “I don’t have any problem with him.
“The reason he was not selected for Middlesbrough is we want to develop Ryan Sessegnon and it was a great opportunity. And his performance against Liverpool was not phenomenal.
“Before Watford, I got a call saying Danny had a back problem, so it was a surprise he was ready to train on Friday. Even so I decided to play Tanganga with Ryan on the bench. That’s the situation.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
