Jose Mourinho targets Tottenham FA Cup triumph to signal policy shift from Mauricio Pochettino era

Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty I
Dan Kilpatrick @Dan_KP3 January 2020

Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho has promised to end Mauricio Pochettino's policy of prioritising the Premier League and Champions League over the FA Cup, insisting he is desperate to win the world's "biggest domestic cup" competition after being inspired by Ricky Villa as a teenager.

Despite leading Spurs to consecutive FA Cup semi-finals, Mourinho's predecessor was never convinced by the value of the domestic cups, claiming winning them would not help turn his players' into serial champions and describing the Premier League and Champions League as the only "real trophies".

Ahead of this weekend's third-round clash at Middlesbrough, Spurs have not won the FA Cup since 1991 and they are without silverware since Boro boss Jonathan Woodgate scored the winner in the 2008 League Cup final against Chelsea.

Mourinho, who succeeded Pochettino in November, has won 11 domestic trophies in his career and struck a dramatically different tone to the Argentine in his first pre-FA Cup press conference on Friday.

AP

"We are not speaking about just ‘something’ – for me, the FA Cup is big, it is the biggest domestic cup," Mourinho said. "I played the Copa Del Rey – Barcelona against Real Madrid – and the Italian Cup – Inter vs Roma – and they are not comparable with FA Cup Final, even when the two teams competing are not the biggest in the country. For me the FA Cup is a very, very special cup. And that’s for me, individually."

Spurs have won the FA Cup eight times in their history, including in 1981 when Villa's brilliant solo goal earned them a victory over Manchester City in the Final replay.

Allsport/Getty Images

Mourinho continued: "Me, as the Tottenham coach, I know what the competition means to the Tottenham supporters. The history they have, the memories they have, the victories they have. The unforgettable goals they scored. The Ricardo Villa goal I watched as a teenager. I don’t forget. I could only imagine what it means to the Tottenham fans.

"I am not saying we are candidates, I am not saying we are going to win it, but I am saying we have to play this competition seriously. You can tell me, 'Jose you are in trouble, you have lots of injuries and not many options, and you have a Premier League to try to finish in the top six or fourth'.

"But I am not going to give more attention to the Premier League than the cup."

PA

Mourinho was 18 when Villa scored at Wembley and, asked where he had watched the match, the Portuguese said: "I was in my house with my dad. In the late 60s, early 70s, [there were] not many matches live on TV. I think national team matches, the three European cup finals and the FA Cup. And the FA Cup was basically the last match of the season so I think I didn’t miss one in that period. Little kid, young teenager, I don’t think I missed one."

Earlier on Friday, Spurs confirmed Harry Kane has suffered a torn hamstring and the England captain is expected to be sidelined for the foreseeable future.

On taking the job, Mourinho was told by chairman Daniel Levy that he would not be given a big budget to spend this month and he has repeatedly said he is happy with the current squad. In spite of Kane's injury, Mourinho says he fully accepts the current situation and is thinking long-term.

Kane left the pitch in some discomfort on Wednesday.
REUTERS

"That was very clear for me and is very important for me to understand that before I come," Mourinho said. "In the end, what I want is the same as everyone in the club wants. It is not [that] I want something and Mr. Levy wants another thing. We want the best for the club.

"That’s obvious and this is not our last transfer window. This is our first transfer window, not the last. We are going to have one in the summer, we are going to have one in 2021 January, we are going to have another one in the summer of 2021. So this is not our last transfer window. So we are going to have to try to be intelligent and we have to try to make the right decisions, not just for now, but for the development of a cycle.

"There is not one manager in the world that is not always looking for more," he added. "We always want more. You have three goalkeepers, you want four. You have five strikers, you want six. That’s our nature. But of course I understand the situation and let’s see what we can do and we have to see if we do something, it’s something that we do not under pressure, it is something that we do also for the future."

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