What José Mourinho wants Tottenham to keep from win vs Villa

The international breaks for the 2020-21 season are over and Tottenham Hotspur is returning to action for a big run-in. As has been the case throughout the pandemic, coach José Mourinho held his online presser and he shared a little insight into his thinking. While there were a lot of questions about players, especially Harry Kane, there were few about that match. However, when it comes to what he liked from the win over Villa that José wants to see against Newcastle on Sunday, that was very clear, the right attitude.

Tottenham’s Attitude Decides their Matches

The optimist in us wants to see Tottenham Hotspur as a team of full-fledged international players capable of beating anyone on any day. The more pessimistic fan sees the team as barely hanging on, praying for some luck down the stretch.  Tottenham Hotspur is somewhere in between those two states but the reality is, Spurs have beaten themselves this season more than they have been beaten by others.

Except for the second Manchester City game – which came in the middle of a terrible run for Tottenham – it is hard to remember Spurs being flat out beaten this season. Yes, they have lost matches and dropped points. Yes, they have not been the better team at times and have won points. However, overall, when Tottenham drops points – in losses or draws – it is often the same refrain about the effort and intensity from the team.

When Tottenham play hard, pressing, attacking, and looking to be on the front foot, they typically win. When Spurs come out passive and lethargic those are the days where points are dropped. What this tells us is that Tottenham is still fighting a mental battle as much as they are a physical one, which is where the attitude that José wants to see comes in.

Attitude is everything for Tottenham – has been from Day 1 with José

We can go back to the Amazon documentary and the proof is plain as day, the questions Mourinho was hammering at the team were not about bad touches or poor passes, they were about better effort. Mourinho was very clear about his feelings regarding Tottenham being a team of nice guys and how they need to be not so nice.

That seems to where this team is at still, fighting this mental block about who they are going to be. A team that sits and lets the game come to them or a team that fights and takes what is theirs. For those uncertain, José is clear he wants the team that fights.

José said what he liked from the Villa match was the “team was solid, the team was intense, the team was aggressive going forward”. This happens because of the attitude the team took to the match, where “the team went there to win”. An example of this was the effort from Harry Kane, who Mourinho pointed out for that effort.

Ultimately it is this attitude and drive and desire that will determine the outcome of Tottenham’s season. Looking at the schedule, outside the Carabao Cup final no team on paper can claim they are stronger than Tottenham. Thus, it comes down to mentality, who is mentally tough enough to pull through at the end of the longest of long journeys.

If Tottenham can bottle that attitude that they come to each match aggressive, ready, and willing to fight for the win, then this should be a stretch run to remember. If not, well, like José we do not want to think about that.