Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho has told the London Evening Standard that he still believes in Matt Doherty despite patchy form.
Spurs were in the market for a new right back over the summer, and chose to go for Doherty in a deal that seemed to make sense.
The Irishman cost just £13.4million despite two superb Premier League seasons at Wolves, proving himself as a dangerous, attack-minded wing-back.
Doherty racked up eight goals and 11 assists in two Premier League campaigns with Wolves, whilst his physicality also looked ideal for Mourinho’s style.
However, the 29-year-old has so far struggled to make the desired impact at Spurs, and has only registered one goal in 10 Premier League outings.
Serge Aurier appears to be Mourinho’s first-choice right back, meaning Doherty has only managed nine league starts in 22 games.
Mourinho has now admitted that Doherty has taken an honest view on his displays, claiming privately that he is ‘much better’ than what he is showing at Spurs.
Mourinho added his own prediction though, stating that he thinks Doherty will ‘only improve’ at Tottenham moving forward, publicly backing him for success.
“I was speaking just now about Pierre [Emile-Hojbjerg], who is an example of a guy who arrived and immediately looks like a guy who was here his whole life and immediately making an impact,” said Mourinho. “But not every player does that. Sometimes it’s a little more difficult. But we believe in [Matt], he believes in us.”
“And we spoke about that a few days ago. He feels it was a great decision to move here, he’s very happy to be here and admits he’s much better than what he’s showing. Confidence is very important and I believe that he’ll only improve. He’s a player that we trust,” he added.
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