Jose Mourinho Promises 'Real Passion' for Tottenham Job

Jose Mourinho has told Tottenham Hotspur fans what to expect now he has replaced Mauricio Pochettino as manager. The 56-year-old was appointed on Wednesday, per the club's official website, and he outlined how he will approach the job:

Mourinho knows the task ahead of him is a challenging one, with Spurs sat 14th in the Premier League, 11 points adrift of a place in the top four and qualification for next season's UEFA Champions League.

Fortunately for Mourinho, he has inherited a squad with more than a few match-winners in attacking areas. The notable talents include striker Harry Kane, versatile forward Heung-Min Son and midfielder Dele Alli.

Mourinho is aware of the quality of the core group he will be working with, telling Spurs TV (h/t BBC Sport):

"It's a privilege when a manager goes to a club and feels that happiness in relation to the squad he is going to have. It didn't happen many times. To be honest, the majority of the times we go to clubs and we always think 'we like some, I don't like enough' and you think immediately about what to do to change, what to do to make an approach between your ideas and the profile of the players.

"This is a completely different case. I really like this squad."

Getting Spurs back on track in the league will demand reviving the form of the established members of the team. It won't be easy since this Spurs squad has looked stale since reaching last season's UEFA Champions League final.

Attempts were made to refresh things in the summer, notably the club-record signing of midfield powerhouse Tanguy Ndombele from Lyon. The Frenchman joined along with Ryan Sessegnon and Real Betis loanee Giovani Lo Celso.

Their arrivals represented a welcome splurge from a club that didn't sign any players in the summer of 2018. Yet the new imports may have also disrupted the balance and chemistry of what was a tight-knit group under Pochettino.

Mourinho may find funds hard to come by since Spurs moved into a new stadium worth £1 billion and incurred heavy debt. Even though the stadium may curb Mourinho's usual heavy spending, he has cited it as one of the reasons he took the job:

"I think you are too humble when you say, 'beautiful stadium', too humble. You have to say the best stadium in the world. That's the reality. The training ground is second to none. It probably can only be compared with some American Football training grounds. You cannot compare it with European football at any level, and I've been in the majority of the best places."

Applauding the infrastructure at the club hints at why Mourinho was so keen to take over. He's also begun constructing the right framework for within the dugout by raiding Ligue 1 side Lille:

If stadium debt does negatively influence the recruitment policy, Mourinho and his coaches will need to make use of the Tottenham academy. Promoting youth isn't something Mourinho has usually been synonymous with, but he sounds confident about the resources available in this area at his latest club:

Mourinho's bullish early words will excite Spurs fans, but they also hint at the pressing need for the Portuguese to make good of this opportunity. He's been out of management since being sacked by Manchester United in December 2018.

His troubled stint at Old Trafford followed his dismissal under a cloud to end a second spell with Chelsea in 2015. Mourinho has seen his reputation and ability seriously questioned for the first time since he arrived in England as a Champions League winner at Porto back in 2004.

Restoring the respect once owed his name won't be easy, but history awaits Mourinho if he can deliver trophies to Spurs. The north London club hasn't claimed silverware since Juande Ramos lifted the League Cup back in 2008, but Mourinho may be the ideal choice to end the drought.

Trophies have defined his career at the top level, but more than brass tacks, Mourinho may give Spurs the psychological edge the squad missed at times during Pochettino's tenure.

Getting to the cusp of winning trophies wasn't a problem. Tottenham lost the final of the 2015 League Cup to Mourinho's Chelsea, before losing to Liverpool in the Champions League showpiece in Madrid earlier this year.

Spurs were also beaten in FA Cup semi-finals, by Chelsea in 2017 and by United a year later.

A ruthless streak was missing for a team needing to finish the job. Mourinho's teams have usually managed to do just that once they have reached finals, yielding four League Cups, one FA Cup, three Champions Leagues and one UEFA Europa League win among others.

Repairing his reputation will demand winning on a similar level at Spurs while avoiding many of the controversies that have plagued him during previous stops. For the moment at least, Mourinho typically sounds up for the challenge ahead.