‘You don’t discuss rocket science with NASA but people think they can discuss football with one of the most important managers in the game’: Jose Mourinho hits back at his critics as he faces more scrutiny at Tottenham over his methods
- Jose Mourinho has called himself one of football’s ‘most important managers’
- The Portuguese boss has hit out at his critics with his job at Spurs under threat
- Tottenham are now facing an uphill battle to qualify for the Champions League
- Defeat by Arsenal and a Europa League exit put Mourinho’s job at serious risk
Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho has fiercely hit back at his critics amid scrutiny over his coaching methods, insisting he is still ‘one of the most important managers in the game’.
The Portuguese boss is currently enjoying some down time with his Tottenham players scattered across the globe on international duty but his position was under serious threat before the break.
Mourinho’s job as Spurs boss is hanging by a thread after he presided over a north London derby defeat by Arsenal and then saw his team crash out of the Europa League in humiliating fashion at Dinamo Zagreb.
Spurs boss Jose Mourinho says he is still ‘one of the most important managers in the world’
Mourinho’s job was hanging by a thread after the Europa League loss to Dinamo Zagreb
A victory over Aston Villa before the international break slightly eased the pressure and left Spurs three points off fourth-placed Chelsea.
But, as Sportsmail reported earlier this month, Mourinho’s job is on the line if he fails to finish in the Champions League places.
Mourinho took part in a virtual live event named ‘Game On with Mourinho’, organised by Spurs sponsor AIA, and took questions from fans in Singapore.
When asked how he deals with criticism of his management style, Mourinho added: ‘I don’t think anybody is going to discuss rocket science with the guys from NASA, with everybody around the world.
‘They think they can discuss football with one of the most important managers in the game.
‘That’s the beauty of football. I got used to it. I appreciate that. So that’s fine for me.’
Mourinho took over as Spurs boss in 2019 and has a chance to lift his first piece of silverware with the club in the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City in April.
But whatever the result of that game, Mourinho is still under huge pressure to deliver top-level European football come the end of the season.
Mourinho’s Spurs team are currently three points behind Chelsea in the race for the top four
As well as recent results, there are also concerns that the Portuguese is fighting to remedy a fractured Tottenham dressing room amid fears of disharmony within the squad.
RB Leipzig’s Julian Nagelsmann and Brendan Rodgers of Leicester are believed to be two of the preferred candidates to take over if Mourinho is dismissed.
Mourinho still has two years left on his current deal, meaning he is entitled to a substantial compensation package if chairman Daniel Levy decides act.
There is an obvious reluctance to fork out for another sacked manager, particularly in Mourinho’s case given the amount any compensation deal would cost.
Levy has been supportive of Mourinho and is understood to have not given up hope that the Portuguese can spark a turnaround.
Last season’s failure to qualify for the Champions League arrived as a substantial blow to their income, as has the fact they’ve had no match-day revenue since the coronavirus pandemic struck last year.
Regaining their Champions League status was viewed as the absolute priority given the financial boost it would provide.
The bulk of the emphasis as to whether the club decide change is necessary will be placed on how Tottenham finish their Premier League campaign.
Tottenham face Newcastle after the international break, desperate for three league points
Meanwhile, the 58-year-old later bizarrely called his band of supporters across the globe ‘Mourinistas’ and said they act as motivation when his team is struggling.
He added: ‘Honestly, I get my strength from myself, but mainly from the people that I love and the people that I know, they love me, even if many of them I don’t know them.
‘I never met them. I used to call them the Mourinistas because in Portugal we use these ‘inistas’ in the end of the name of the club that we love to express to supporters.
‘So, for example, if you are from Porto, you say Portista, if you are from Benfica, you say Benfikista. And if you are from Mourinho, we say Mourinista.
‘I have so many more Mourinistas around the world that I, I play for them.’
Spurs are next in action against Newcastle on April 4 when they will pick up their unlikely bid to finish in the Champions League places.