Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho would not blame his side’s exit from the Europa League on Thursday night on Heung-Min Son or Pierre Emile Hojbjerg, as per his comments to Football London.
Tottenham were dumped out of Europa in embarrassing circumstances in midweek, as Dinamo Zagreb came back to beat them 3-0.
Spurs never got going in the contest, with their performance and attitude extremely concerning.
Tottenham were missing two key players in Son and Hojbjerg.
But Mourinho was not using that as an excuse for side’s defeat.
“We didn’t lose because of Son and Pierre. I think that’s quite a nice way that would allow me to go in that direction and use that as one of the reasons for,” he said.
“I appreciate the chance that you gave me but I’m not going to accept that chance. I’m too honest and too hurt with this to accept that chance. It was not because of Sonny or Pierre. Of course two very good players, guys important in the team but I totally refuse to say that.”
Son missed out on playing for Spurs through injury, and the hope is that he will return sooner rather than later. Mourinho has said that it is ‘very doubtful’ he will play tomorrow against Aston Villa, though.
Hojbjerg, on the other hand, surely will start in what looks another hugely important game for Spurs.
If Tottenham lose the calls for Mourinho to go will only grow louder, and the Portuguese boss’s team selection should be very interesting, given Thursday night’s result.
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