Jose Mourinho: Tottenham's UCL Loss to RB Leipzig 'Good' for Club Long Term

Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho believes the team may benefit in the long term from their UEFA Champions League elimination at the hands of RB Leipzig. 

Mourinho was unable to mastermind a turnaround for his team on Tuesday night in the competition's last 16. They backed up a 1-0 loss in north London with a 3-0 defeat in Germany. Over the course of the two legs, Spurs were comprehensively outplayed by their Bundesliga opponents.

Speaking after a disappointing night for the club, Mourinho said he hopes the team can learn from the elimination, per BT Sport (h/t Team Talk):

"I think probably it's good. Sometimes difficult moments are moments that can prepare the future in a better way.

"... Of course there is nobody to blame when it looks like in every match we have a traumatic injury and every traumatic injury ends with months out. 

"So just before the first game against Leipzig, we lost [Heung-Min] Son two days before. We come to the second game, we lost [Steven] Bergwijn before, and I don't want to speak about the ones we lost so, so, so, so long ago."

Here is more of what Mourinho had to say to BT Sport:

Afterwards, a reporter in the press conference offered the Tottenham boss some encouragement:

Any hopes Tottenham had of a possible fightback on the night were quickly dashed, with a first-half brace from Marcel Sabitzer putting Leipzig in a commanding position:

The defeat means Spurs will finish the season without silverware, having recently been knocked out of the FA Cup fifth round by Norwich City.

Given the reputation Mourinho has developed throughout his career as a coach who can deliver trophies, the poor displays in the cup competitions will be disappointing to all associated with Spurs. 

Mourinho is a two-time Champions League winner, but in recent years he's found the knockout stages difficult to negotiate:

Their focus will now be squarely on the Premier League; they are in eighth place, seven points behind Chelsea in fourth.

While some supporters will be pleased to see Mourinho thinking of the long term, there will be concerns by the manner in which they are playing. Although Tottenham are without some crucial attacking players, in defence and midfield Spurs lack balance, intensity and aggression.

Football journalist Colin Millar put Tottenham's problems into context:

Having come in midseason, Mourinho is still working with a squad of players that are still not his own. With that in mind, it will be intriguing to see what moves he makes in the transfer window in a bid to improve the Spurs setup.

In the short term, the spotlight will stay on Mourinho and his team. On Sunday, former club Manchester United are the visitors in the Premier League.