Tottenham Hotspur head coach Jose Mourinho has suggested to Sky Sports that Dele Alli needs to motivate himself to get back into the starting lineup.
Alli has lost his place in the Tottenham team and has been left out of matchday squads at times this season.
According to WhoScored, the England international midfielder has made one start and one substitute appearance in the Premier League, and has played 26 minutes in the Europa League for Spurs so far this season.
Mourinho has suggested that only the 24-year-old can help himself, and has pointed at the likes of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min in terms of stepping up.
The Portuguese told Sky Sports when asked about Alli: “It’s about him, it’s not about me. People used to say the coach has to motivate, the coach has to get the best out. I don’t agree.
“We are an external source of motivation for a player, but if the player is not the motivation, if the player is not the one that really wants, we can’t do much.
“The level is very high. The Kanes, the Sons, these guys are putting the level so so high for the others to get minutes in these attacking positions.”
Stepping up
Alli is a good attacking midfielder who has done well overall for Spurs, but he did not have a great campaign in 2019-20.
According to WhoScored, the 24-year-old scored eight goals and provided four assists in the Premier League and scored one goal and gave one assist in the Champions League last season.
With Gareth Bale having arrived on loan from Real Madrid in the summer transfer window, competition for a place in the Spurs attack now is very fierce, and Alli will have to raise his game a lot and make the most of the chances he will get in matches.
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