Tottenham came unstuck against a fired-up West Ham side on Sunday
Declan Rice says West Ham were motivated by comments made in the build-up to Sunday’s match by Jose Mourinho.
Speaking on Tottenham’s YouTube channel after last week’s 4-1 win over Wolfsberger, Mourinho said: “I believe that in the end of the season, their position and our position are not going to be the same positions where both teams are now.”
Those comments were not borne out by events on Sunday, with goals from Michail Antonio and Jesse Lingard securing a 2-1 win for David Moyes’ side.
That result took the Hammers to fourth in the table, with Mourinho’s men nine points off a Champions League spot in ninth place.
Rice has revealed that those comments served as an extra bit of motivation for his team in the run-up to Sunday’s game.
The England international, who has made 27 appearances for Moyes’ team this season, was a key player in the victory against Spurs.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Rice said: “We played them at the start of the season and we came back from 3-0 down to draw 3-3, and yesterday was another top result.
“But it’s a London derby. That game itself, knowing it’s the London derby, that should be enough to get you up for anything.
“We’re going out there now, we don’t fear anybody. I think I read during the week that Mourinho said that at the end of the season there will be no comparison in terms of where Spurs are going to be compared to West Ham, and ‘We’re going to overtake them’.
“I think he said that on the Spurs YouTube channel. You read that as players and you think ‘Yeah, that’s going to make me go out there and prove you wrong.
“You’re going to go out there today and want to put on an even better performance, so I think all the lads knew that and we wanted to go out there and really beat Spurs.
“That’s one of the reasons.”
West Ham are next in action on Saturday, when they face league leaders Manchester City at the Etihad.
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