Richard Keys has claimed that some Tottenham Hotspur players might be tempted to ‘down tools’ against Manchester City during the upcoming League Cup final in an effort to accelerate Jose Mourinho’s departure from the club.
It has been a very mixed first full season for the Portuguese coach in North London but the Carabao Cup clash on April 25 offers Spurs the chance to end a 13-year trophy drought.
Tottenham were dumped out of the Europa League by Dinamo Zagreb in midweek and failure to finish inside the top four, coupled with a defeat by Pep Guardiola’s side at Wembley, could well see Mourinho struggle to remain at the club beyond this summer.
The Lilywhites beat Aston Villa on Sunday to move into sixth in the Premier League table, three points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea.
It has been well documented this season that Mourinho has had off-the-field issues with certain players – like Dele Alli – and Keys has intimated that some stars who aren’t keen on their boss might intentionally play below their best against City to harm the former Chelsea and Manchester United coach.
He wrote in his blog: “Would Spurs’ players down tools for such a big game? They might. Those who were desperate to see the back of Mancini at City gave up an FA Cup final to Wigan. They knew an era of success was guaranteed anyway – so the best solution was to ‘out’ Mancini. The rest is history.”
If we’re honest, this is a huge stretch by Keys.
The Tottenham players represent the club first and foremost, not Mourinho, and therefore it’s a pretty laughable notion to suggest that some of the playing staff could intentionally and effectively throw the game just to undermine their coach.
If Manchester City beat Spurs – and they probably will – it’s because they’re 23 points ahead of them in the Premier League and a far better team, not because the players weren’t trying.
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