Jose Mourinho ‘regrets becoming Spurs manager’ and ‘hasn’t improved them at all’, claims Arsenal legend Paul Merson
JOSE MOURINHO already regrets taking the Tottenham job and hasn’t improved them at all, according to Arsenal legend Paul Merson.
The Portuguese boss was appointed just 12-hours after Mauricio Pochettino was axed towards the end of November.
He has guided his side to ten wins in 19 appearances and has closed the gap on fourth-place Chelsea to just four points.
Recent wins over Manchester City and Southampton have given the club a welcome boost but Merson remains far from convinced over Mourinho’s impact.
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Writing for the Daily Star, he said: “I said when he went there it would give them a lift and there would be a charm offensive – and he was all smiles for a while.
“But everyone knew it wouldn’t last, didn’t they? He’s gone back to being Grumpy Mourinho again. And I don’t see how he’s improved them at all. Not one bit.
“He looks like he’s thinking: ‘What have I done coming here?’ You don’t see him high-fiving ball boys now do you?
“Mourinho is only there to get them into the top four. I can’t see Daniel Levy wanting to win the FA Cup but not get back into the Champions League.
“But it’s not really working, is it? Chelsea are in the driving seat to finish fourth and I can’t see Spurs catching them right now.
“They are a very lucky football team at the moment because they’ve been ripped to shreds in their last two matches but still managed to win.”
Mourinho was out of work for 11 months after leaving his ill-fated role as Manchester United boss.
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And Merson believes he can already see similarities in his behaviour towards the end of that spell.
He added: “Things seem different now. It’s starting again, isn’t it? All the issues he had at United. He’s having them at Spurs now.
“I don’t think it will work for him there. That Southampton game was like an end-of-his-Old-Trafford-reign performance.”