Tottenham's resurgence is not about me, insists Mourinho
Tottenham have won eight out of 14 league matches since Jose Mourinho took over, but he insists the upturn in form is not down to him alone.
José Mourinho was keen to point out that Tottenham's positive trajectory since he took charge is not just down to his coaching skills. Spurs, who were beaten 1-0 by RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Wednesday, sit fifth in the Premier League, one point behind fourth-placed Chelsea, who they face at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
The 'Mourinho effect' results starting to show at Spurs
Since Mourinho took charge at the end of last year, Spurs have managed eight league victories, including three successive wins heading into Saturday's clash at Stamford Bridge, with the Blues having won the reverse fixture against their former boss in December.
Should Manchester City's ban from the Champions League be upheld, fifth place will mean automatic qualification for UEFA's elite club competition but, despite Spurs being third in the form table since Mourinho took over, the Portuguese claims he cannot take full responsibility.
"I am but that's not about me. Not about me," he told a news conference when asked if he was proud of Spurs' position in the form table. "If it was about me, I would even choose to move quickly to July 1st and start the pre-season with my players, without injuries, going to Premier League day one with the same points as everybody else. That's not about me, it's about us, that's the club. The boys did fantastic to put themselves back in the positions where we belong, these positions fighting for the top four. The situation is difficult. Don't think of any targets, we just want to go match after match and see where this can take us. After three months we went from closer to the relegation positions, which obviously was never a problem. But we went from there to be one point behind the top four. Amazing effort by everyone. So now that we're in this position, we earned the right to fight for it."
Stamford Bridge return is "just another game" for Mourinho
Despite the potentially pivotal nature of the fixture with Chelsea, Mourinho says Saturday's visit to his former stomping ground is no different to any other occasion he faces one of his previous teams. "No, not special, one more game. Because I'm a professional, as I've said every time I played my previous clubs, I belong 200 per cent to my club," he said. "The only different thing will be at the end of the game I can walk from the stadium to my house but I won't take advantage of because I'll go back from the stadium with my players."