Jose Mourinho building a culture of excuses at Tottenham

Luck has not gone Tottenham’s way recently, but Jose Mourinho is only compounding the issues at Tottenham by building a culture of excuses at the club. 

Losing two of Europe’s best players would damage badly any top flight’s chances of continued success. But instead of trying to find a positive spin, Mourinho continuously makes excuses for his side’s underwhelming performances.

The world’s best leaders know when to take accountability; they know when to fall on the sword, even if a problem is fault of their own. That’s certainly not the case for Mourinho, who repeatedly finds a way to blame someone, or something, else.

If Tottenham’s poor performances aren’t due to having what Mourinho believes to be the worst injury crisis in Europe, they must be because of an unfavourable schedule. Mourinho recently suggested Tottenham are like a gun without bullets, referencing that, due to Son Heung-Min and Harry Kane’s injuries, they have no fire power up front. It’s not only an excuse but a blight on the players he has at his disposal.

The Portuguese gaffer then blamed an unfavourable schedule, saying Spurs were handicapped by having to play two pivotal matches in less than three days. While many English team Champions League participants have gruelling, unforgiving schedules, Mourinho’s propensity to use it as an excuse is yet another example of his need to divert accountability.

Recently Mourinho said it will be one of his greatest managerial achievements if Spurs secure a top four spot, an asinine comment yet again reflecting his inauthenticity and a palpable lack of humility.

There is no way Mourinho truly believes finishing in the top four this season would be his greatest achievement. While Spurs have been severely struck down by the injury bug, Chelsea have also endured a rash of long-term injuries to some of their top players. Manchester United are a shadow of their former selves and Sheffield United and Wolves aren’t exactly world beaters, with all due respect to those clubs.

Being media savvy as he is, Mourinho wants people to believe his comments for a clear reason: if Spurs finish in the top four, everyone will hail the Special One for achieving the impossible. If they don’t, he’s yet again off the hook. We all know that’s a bunch of malarkey. At this time last season Arsenal, who were in fourth place, had 53 points, nine ahead of Chelsea’s 44.

Not only does that show how far behind the pace from last season the top four contenders are, it also demonstrates the level of mediocrity from the teams vying for fourth spot. Nobody can deny Mourinho’s incredible CV or his ability to win, but his reliance on spewing excuses, combined with his refusal to take accountability and inability to focus on the positives diminishes significantly his prowess as a leader.

Nobody wants to follow blindly someone full of excuses and nobody will go to war with a leader who knowingly, and repeatedly, points the blame at others. You can start to see why Mourinho has bounced from club to club, struggling to stay anywhere for longer than a few seasons.