Mourinho was Talking To Not About Tottenham Players Sunday

Sunday evening following the Tottenham Hotspur victory over Sheffield United, José Mourinho was asked about Tanguy Ndombele. When Mourinho spoke rather than speaking specifically about Ndombele Sunday, it seemed José was speaking to all Tottenham players current and future. Of course some of what Mourinho shared was about the French midfielder, it seemed his overall comments likely had other audiences.

Tottenham Got a Complete Performance

José Mourinho clearly thought Tanguy Ndombele played well, saying “his performance was very, very complete” in his post-match presser. Further, it was a full 90 minutes in a game Mourinho termed “high intensity” as Spurs pressed hard, making it difficult for the “midfielders to cope for 90 minutes with the intensity of the game” but Ndombele did it well in Spurs 1-3 victory. 

Ultimately, Mourinho deemed the midfielder’s performance “magnificent” and said he was “really pleased” with Tanguy getting to the level he has and with his “genius” goal.  Clearly the Frenchman is key for Tottenham as he can provide a defensive presence in midfield and can be the lynchpin of the possession. However, beyond being really complimentary about Tanguy Ndombele, it was obvious with some of the other comments that were not specific to the magnificent performance José Mourinho was speaking to his players not about them.

Playing Well or Playing Poorly, it is the Players Responsibility

While in response to a question about the turnaround in Ndombele, if you think about the words, Mourinho could be speaking to any Tottenham player on the outside of the playing rotation looking in. Mourinho noted that given his many years of coaching, he is experienced enough to know “when a player is not playing very well it is his responsibility and when a player turns things around” that too “is also his responsibility”.

In other words, whether you are playing good or bad, a player has to own their performance. More importantly, if a player is on the outside and “is not playing” it is on the player to “try to understand how can you walk through that door” and create the opportunity. For Mourinho, he said “with me the door of the team is always open” but he cannot force anyone to walk through it.

At this point it is clear Tanguy Ndombele has run through the door and is on the rise playing some of his best football for Tottenham Hotspur yet. However, for other players who maybe are not playing that well or seeing that time, it seems the door is open, but you have to be willing to walk through and fight for your place.

For those on the outside looking in, they need look no further than Ndombele to see that a player can get back into Mourinho’s team and thrive, but it is not easy. The question is, will they try to walk through the coaches door or run for the exit?