MX23RW : Friday, January 24 12:40:13| >> :60:3054:3054:

The key tasks facing new Spurs manager Jose Mourinho

The key tasks facing new Spurs manager Jose Mourinho
© Reuters
Mourinho has replaced Mauricio Pochettino on a deal until the end of the 2022-2023 season.

Jose Mourinho is back in work after being appointed Tottenham's new manager.

The Portuguese, who was sacked at Manchester United 11 months ago, has replaced Mauricio Pochettino on a deal until the summer of 2023.

He inherits a team full of quality but also one on a slide.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the issues Mourinho will have to address.

Win a trophy

Whatever people say about Jose Mourinho, he knows how to win trophies
Whatever people say about Jose Mourinho, he knows how to win trophies (Nick Potts/PA)

This will not be an immediate concern, but part of his overall brief will be surely to end Tottenham's trophy drought. As well as his high profile, Mourinho's ability to put silverware in the cabinets will have been a massive appeal to Spurs chairman Daniel Levy. He is a serial winner, lifting trophies at every club he has been at and that was the one thing missing from Pochettino's reign. It has been over a decade since Spurs won a trophy and Mourinho will be desperate to change that.

Sort the defence out

A tight defence was once a cornerstone of the Tottenham side, but that has been a key struggle this season. They have faced more shots in the Premier League than any other side, have kept just one clean sheet and conceded seven in a game against Bayern Munich. Mourinho is renowned for his ability to build a side that is defensively rigid and he will have to get to work quickly on drilling his new back line to make them far more solid.

Get the best out of contract rebels

Danny Rose has said he will run down his Tottenham contract and leave on a free transfer
Danny Rose has said he will run down his Tottenham contract and leave on a free transfer (John Walton/PA)

Pochettino had it tough after a proposed summer rebuild flunked and he was left with a host of players who had been expected to leave the club. And most of those players, notably Christian Eriksen, Danny Rose and Jan Vertonghen, have been a shadow of their former selves this season and performed well below standard. Mourinho must find a way to unite the squad quickly and get the best out of players who could leave the club as quickly as January.

Sort away form out

Tottenham have not won away in the Premier League since January 10
Tottenham have not won away in the Premier League since January 10 (John Walton/PA)

Part of Pochettino's demise was due to terrible away form. Spurs have won just three times on the road since January 10 – all in the Champions League. Their last away win in the league came at Fulham 12 games ago and that is simply not good enough for a side of Tottenham's quality. Putting that right will tie into Mourinho's ability to toughen them up as they have looked so flaky on their travels.

Convince Harry Kane to stay

While the fate of Eriksen, Rose, Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld may be out of his hands, Mourinho needs to make it his main priority to convince Harry Kane that his future remains at Spurs. The England captain is under contract for plenty of time yet, but he is a superstar of European football and has always said he wants to win things. Ideally that would be at Spurs, and his chances of that might just have improved, but it would be a surprise if he was not linked with the super clubs this summer, especially if he has a good Euro 2020. Mourinho needs to do everything he can to make sure Kane, who had an especially close relationship with Pochettino, still feels content at the club – and hopefully winning matches will help to convince him.

ID:379977: cacheID:379977:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:9887:
Written by
P A
Restore Data
Share this article now:
England's Harry Kane celebrates scoring their second goal on November 17, 2019
Read Next:
David Villa: 'Harry Kane is the best striker in the world right now'
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool21155150203050
2Arsenal22128243212244
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest22135433221144
4Chelsea22117444271740
5Manchester CityMan City22115644291538
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle22115638261238
7Bournemouth22107536261037
8Aston Villa2210663334-136
9Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2281043530534
10Fulham228953430433
11Brentford2284104039128
12Crystal Palace226972528-327
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd2275102732-526
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham2275102743-1626
15Tottenham HotspurSpurs22731245351024
16Everton214891828-1020
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2244143251-1916
18Ipswich TownIpswich2237122043-2316
19Leicester CityLeicester2235142348-2514
20Southampton2213181550-356


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!