Eric Dier: Spurs players are ‘lucky’ to be working with a coach like Jose Mourinho
Tottenham midfielder Eric Dier believes Jose Mourinho is the “perfect” successor to Mauricio Pochettino and says the club’s players are in a privileged position now that the Portuguese has taken charge of the north London club.
The polarising 56-year-old coach kicked off his Spurs tenure with an emphatic 3-2 win over London rivals West Ham on Saturday.
Are Spurs “lucky” to be working with Mourinho? Five things to know…
- Mourinho has won 20 major trophies across his career, including two Champions League crowns.
- He began his Spurs reign in fine fashion, beating West Ham 3-2 at the London Stadium.
- The result ended a run of 12 winless Premier League games on the road for Spurs.
- It was also their first league win since September and took them into the top-half of the PL table.
- Dier believes the Spurs players are “lucky” to be working with a manager who possesses a “winning mentality”.
Three points ensured Spurs won their first Premier League away game since January, a barren run which had stretched to 12 matches prior to Saturday’s fixture.
And Dier, who was once a report target of Mourinho during his Manchester United days, believes Spurs were right to appoint Mourinho given his track record and “winning mentality”.
The England international told reporters: “His record is unbelievable and he transmits that confidence. The way he speaks, you believe it, you feel it from him. I hope we can win a lot of games and do as well as possible.
“I think he’s the perfect person to have followed on from Pochettino. We’re really happy that if someone was to replace Pochettino it was him, with that winning mentality.
“Before we were trying to win trophies and nothing will change.
“I think, for everyone, we’re very lucky to have played under Pochettino and now Mourinho. We couldn’t be luckier.”
Harry Kane backs Mourinho to bring silverware
Despite many waxing lyrical over Pochettino’s managerial style, there were some who questioned his ability to win something tangible for Spurs.
Mourinho, on the other hand, has lifted 20 major trophies across his career, which has certainly not been lost on Kane.
He said: “The gaffer’s won at every club he’s gone to – there’s no hiding away from that.
“I’ve made it clear that I’m at the stage of my career where I want to win trophies. I’ve made it clear I want to win them here and it’s a big year for us.
Subscribe to Squawka’s Youtube channel here.
“Realistically we look at the Champions League and the FA Cup this season to try to do that, so we’ll see how that goes and then from my point of view I’ll keep doing what I’m doing, keep fighting for this club on the pitch.
“We all want to win. We wanted to win when Mauricio was here; we want to win the same now the gaffer’s here.”
Spurs host Olympiacos in the Champions League on Tuesday night and a positive result will see the north London club tighten their grip on second place in Group B.