Mourinho has new target - Ndombele

LONDON • Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho was in uncharted territory going into Saturday's Premier League game at Burnley, having lost four successive games in all competitions for the first time in his 20-year managerial career.

While Spurs managed to stop the rot in the 1-1 draw, with Dele Alli's penalty cancelling out the opener from Chris Wood, it was yet another disappointing display as they slipped to eighth place, only a point above bitter rivals Arsenal (40).

Mourinho sought to lay the blame for their laboured first-half performance on their £54 million (S$97 million) record-signing Tanguy Ndombele, who was anonymous at Turf Moor.

The France midfielder, together with academy product Oliver Skipp, were hauled off at the break for Giovani lo Celso and Lucas Moura.

On Ndombele, signed from Lyon last summer by his predecessor Mauricio Pochettino, Mourinho said: "In the first half, we didn't have a midfield. Of course, I'm not speaking of Skipp because he's a kid of 19 who's played two hours in the last few days. I don't criticise him at all.

"But I'm not going to run away and I have to say he (Ndombele) has had enough time to come to a different level.

"I know the Premier League is difficult, and some players take a long time to adapt to a different league. There have been many examples of that.

"But a player with his potential has to give us more than he is giving us, especially when you see how Lucas, lo Celso and those players are playing. I was expecting more in the first half from him.

"I'm really pleased with the reaction, but we had the conditions to perform better in the first half."

Hinting Ndombele would struggle to make it into his first XI from now on, he added: "He has to know I cannot keep giving him opportunities to play because the team is much more important."

However, former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy disagreed, insisting the Frenchman was not the only one who played poorly and the criticism was "unjustified".

He told the BBC: "There were at least six of them, seven of them, that were not quite at the races in the first half. We are also talking about Burnley's quality and tenacity and willingness to get at them and stop them playing.

"Ndombele was no worse than half a dozen others. So it is harsh to use him as a scapegoat. All in all, you cannot blame Ndombele for the first half. Burnley were quality and Spurs were tactically wrong."

Burnley, too, were disappointed but for different reasons as the Clarets extended their unbeaten run in the league to seven games.

Ben Mee's unnecessary foul on Erik Lamela in the box gave Spurs a route back into the game - a lesson Burnley boss Sean Dyche urged his 10th-placed side to learn from.

He said: "We've found a good level of consistency in the last few weeks. We were excellent in the first half, but then we made a mistake and got punished."

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The Manchester United defender constantly drew the ire of the Portuguese, even when he played well. After a 3-1 defeat by Watford in September 2016, Mourinho questioned the England international's "mental attitude".

He also claimed Shaw needed to "grow up and understand the game better" despite also acknowledging his good display as the Red Devils drew 1-1 with Everton in April 2017.

His past history with the United midfielder is well documented, with their fractious relationship a reason why he was sacked by the Red Devils in December 2018.

In September that year, the France international was stripped of the vice-captaincy as Mourinho was reportedly incensed by his Instagram post, which he felt poked fun at the club's League Cup third-round exit.

Pogba's "attack, attack, attack" comments - a veiled criticism of the defensive tactics preferred by the former Chelsea manager - eventually led to his omission from Mourinho's final three matches in charge.

Given that he was Mourinho's No. 1 transfer target, the mercurial Portugal winger was expected to be a key figure for Inter Milan after arriving from Porto for €18.6 million (S$29 million) in 2008.

However, the move turned sour barely a few months later, with his compatriot taking aim at his penchant for "kicking the ball with the outside of his foot" and slamming his lack of "tactical discipline".

In 2010, Quaresma said in an interview that linking up with Mourinho at Inter was his "biggest regret" in football and he "woke up crying" ahead of training sessions.