please log in to view this image Saturday 7th December 3pm Premier League Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Mourinho's first big test as Spurs manager came against his old club and it's fair to say that it didn't go well. The change of system, personnel and tactics didn't work out and the performance got the result it deserved. No time to reflect though, as we hit the relentless fixture congestion of December. Burnley often give us an attitude test and their workrate matches anyone in the division. Can we make the loss look like a blip or will the three wins look like New Manager Bounce? Burnley's last campaign was plagued by the success of the previous one. Finishing 7th and qualifying for the Europa League earned Sean Dyche a lot of well-earned praise. A lack of resources and transfers the following summer did not bode well for the rigours of European football. Two games every week was too much for their small squad and their season started disastrously. Even crashing out in the Euopa qualifiers didn't help, as the extra effort was for nought. A Boxing Day thrashing at home to Everton left Burnley in the relegation zone with 12 points from 19 games. Things were looking bleak for the Clarets and their dour manager, drawing questions about his job. Sean Dyche typifies the grim graft of his side though, so he dug in, stuck at it and turned them around. Three consecutive wins and an unbeaten run of eight pulled them up the table and away from danger. Some patchy form saw out the season and they avoided relegation quite comfortably in the end. This season has seen a fairly rollercoaster start, like much of the division. 5 wins, 3 draws and 7 losses has them in the bottom half, but it's very tight and there's few points in it. They're three points from 6th, but also three points from 17th. There's a lot to play for. Another relegation battle or more Europa League aspirations? Too early to tell. The meeting at Wembley last year came at nearly the same point of the season. We'd just nicked a place in the last 16 of the Champions League with a midweek draw at Barcelona. Weary legs and poor final balls meant that there was little reward for our overall dominance and possession. Negativity and timewasting from the visitors looked like earning them a boring, goalless draw. That was until an injury-time Eriksen strike stole the points: The return at Turf Moor was a contentious, angry affair, best remembered for the post-match rows. We had most of the possession and chances again, but this was a Burnley side with confidence. Their previously mentioned unbeaten run had lifted them and they took the lead from a dubious corner. Wood's opener was quickly leveled by Kane, who looked miles from fitness having returned from injury. Barnes put them ahead again late on, leading to Pochettino's confrontation with Mike ****ing Dean: Davies, Lamela, Vorm and Lloris are all still out. Gudmundsson is out for Burnley, while Taylor, Westwood and Bardsley are doubts. Neither side has any suspensions. Lineups for each side's last league game: Spurs: Gazzaniga; Aurier, Sanchez, Alderweireld, Vertonghen; Sissoko, Winks; Moura, Alli, Son; Kane. Subs: Austin, Foyth, Rose, Dier, Ndombele, Eriksen, Lo Celso. League form: LDDWWL. Burnley: Pope; Bardsley, Tarkowski, Mee, Pieters; Lennon, Cork, Drinkwater, McNell; Hendrick; Wood. Subs: Hart, Lowton, Gibson, Brady, Barnes, Rodriguez, Vydra. League form: LLWWLL. Ref: Kevin Friend. VAR: Lee Mason. TV: Not televised. How would you like to line up for this one and what would you change from the Man Utd game? Would you stick with the same lineup, make a couple of changes or go for a wholesale switch? Which system and tactics would you use and what are you expecting Burnley to go with?
"Have you had a chance to speak to Christian about his future, yet?" "Yes." "Can I ask what he said?" "No."
I’m hoping the Bayern game is a completely rotated XI. Definitely don’t want the likes of Dele, Son and Kane playing in that.
He's basically said as much in that conference. Might be a chance to give Walker-Peters, Foyth, Sessegnon and maybe even Skipp and Parrott some time.
Yes But his comments on the defence and Sissoko were very informative and shows that he has already identified the strengths and weaknesses in the squad. You can see how much depends on the players whose contracts are running out. I wouldn't be surprised to see one or two of them signing new contracts in January Jan & Toby for example.
I'd like to see that, probably get battered (though so did the first team ) but gives those guys some much needed game time and if anyone can have a good individual performance it might do them some good going forward.
His comments on the individual players, their condition and roles was interesting. Good to see that he considered Skipp for the holding role, even if he felt it was too much too soon.
I'm liking that a lot. Mauricio Pochettino really struggling with the hacks was part of his 'unravelling'. Coldly, just tell them "no".
Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho says he slept at the club's training ground to prepare for Saturday's match against Burnley. The Portuguese stayed at Hotspur Way in Enfield after his side were beaten 2-1 by Manchester United on his return to his former club. Mourinho felt that the dressing room was a "sad" place following the loss. "After a defeat you cannot be sad. You have to be more than that. You have to be raging, angry, not sad," he said. "I didn't go home, so the next morning at eight o'clock I was here doing what? Burnley," Mourinho said. "Analysing Burnley, trying to organise the training session, trying to organise the meeting, choosing the clips to show them the most clear possible way Burnley works. "That's the way you have to do it in football. Don't accept in a passive way." "It's obvious we have problems but we have players with quality, a great human dressing room," Mourinho added. "I like the guys very much but we need to change that feeling of feeling sorry about our mistakes and feeling sad with our bad results."