Jose Mourinho admits he is 'depressed' by Tottenham's fixture schedule

‘It is impossible to do. It is not human’: Fuming Jose Mourinho admits he is ‘depressed’ by Tottenham’s hectic fixture schedule that could see them play NINE times in 22 days as he threatens to play the kids in Carabao Cup

  • Tottenham have a hectic start to the season featuring in three competitions
  • Spurs are competing in the Premier League, Europa League and Carabao Cup
  • One-off nature of the cup ties leaves Jose Mourinho with selection headache
  • Spurs boss believes schedule is ‘impossible’ for his players to play all the games

The new season is yet to start and Jose Mourinho is already fuming about a fixture schedule that could see Tottenham play nine games in the first 22 days.

Mourinho demanded to know who devised the plan – which he branded ‘not human – and threatened to send his youth team out in the Carabao Cup.

‘If I think too much about it I will get depressed,’ said Spurs boss. ‘I want to go into every match with a smile, but I asked my boys which of them thinks they can play all these nine matches for 90 minutes and nobody told me, ‘I can’.

‘So we all are very, very aware that it is impossible to do it. It is not human. In the end, we end up asking who are the illuminated people making these decisions? I would like to know because in this moment they hide.

Jose Mourinho is concerned about Tottenham's fixture pile up at the start of the season

Jose Mourinho is concerned about Tottenham’s fixture pile up at the start of the season

‘Who makes a team play Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday, Tuesday again, Thursday again, Sunday again? Do they want us to play with the youth team in the Carabao Cup? Do they want us? That’s my question.’

Tottenham kick-off their Premier League campaign against Everton on Sunday before travelling to Bulgaria to face Lokomotiv Plovdiv in a Europa League qualifier on Thursday and then returning to face Southampton on Sunday week.

They have a Carabao Cup third round tie away against Plymouth or Leyton Orient on Tuesday September 22 and, if they win in Bulgaria, another Europa League qualifier in either Macedonia or Romania, two days later, before a league game against Newcastle on Sunday 27.

If they are still in both cup competitions, they will play the Carabao Cup fourth round on Tuesday 29 and a Europa League play-off tie on Thursday October 1 before a trip to Manchester United on Sunday 4 and then into an international break.

‘It is a big risk in terms of our ambitions,’ fumed Mourinho. ‘First of all, because it is very, very possible you lose one of these matches. If you lose in the Europa League, you go out. If you lose in the Carabao Cup, you go out.

‘So, at that level, it is a big risk. Injury, obviously. Everybody speaks about lots of matches in some periods but this is unique. It has never happened. If we decide one of these competitions is not important for us, we go against the nature of the club and against our own ambitions.

‘We have our ambitions and we have our rights to try and fight for the competitions.’

source: dailymail.co.uk