Jose's five-point preview - Burnley

Jose Mourinho spoke to Spurs TV on Friday to preview Saturday’s home match against Burnley (kick-off 3pm), where we’ll be looking to respond following the midweek defeat at Manchester United. Here’s his latest five-point preview...

1. Reacting to defeat

What kind of reaction does Jose expect from the players in the wake of Wednesday night’s setback at Old Trafford?

Jose: “I want to expect a team that wants to go back to victories, a team that wants to go, step by step, to improve the position in the table. Where we are is not where we want to be and I’m 100 per cent sure that it’s not going to be the position where we are going to end the seasonl, but we need to get points which we did – six in two matches – but then, of course, after a defeat you have to try to go back to victories.”

2. Mood

What has the mood been like among the squad since Wednesday?

Jose: “I am happier because I felt that after the game it was just pure sadness and I think in football, after a defeat, it cannot be just pure sadness – it has to be more than that. It has to be a feeling of ‘I want the next match immediately, tomorrow if possible, I want to play, I want to win again, I want to try not to make the same mistakes that I did.’ This is the feeling that I like after a defeat and yesterday and especially today, I felt the players with that positive spirit and not with that empty sadness any more.”

3. Burnley and a front two

What kind of threat does Jose expect Burnley to pose with the form of their strike partnership of Chris Wood and Ashley Barnes?

Jose: “It’s always difficult. There is something that I always say which is that you cannot press when the ball is in the air. You have to just try to cope with the kind of football that they play. Of course, when we have the ball, we have to play the way we do, we have to try to use the qualities we have and obviously to play direct is not our quality. So, we have to deal with the problems they are going to pose us and we have also to play and not lose our identity.”

4. Keeping Burnley out

At his official pre-match press conference, Jose was asked about the goals we’ve conceded of late.

Jose: “We have to surround the defence but without losing what we have in attack. We’ve conceded two goals in each one of my four matches but we scored in all of them and we could score even more than what we did. But you are right, we are conceding too much, we are conceding some, what I have to call, cheap goals and we have to try to stop it. The best way to do it is to work. We have no time to work at the moment. After the United game, yesterday was a day of complete recovery and today was the second recovery day, the day before the next game, so the conditions to work on the pitch are not the best – less work, more analysing, more meetings, more talk. I’m not a meetings coach, I am a pitch coach – that’s where I really like to coach, on the pitch, and I think it’s a way where you can accelerate all the processes. Let’s wait a little bit until next week where we have, of course, the Bayern match – that will be a match where I am going to rest some players so I will work with the players that are not going to be involved. Let’s wait also for the week before the weekend of 21 and 22 December because it’s on the pitch where we can really improve things. But to analyse, to comment, to coach in the meeting room helps, so hopefully we get some positive things after some negative things.”

5. Goalkeeper

Paulo Gazzaniga made a number of important saves at United – what does Jose think of the way he’s taking responsibility between the sticks with two other goalkeepers in Hugo Lloris and Michel Vorm currently sidelined?

Jose: “I don’t think it’s easy when you have to replace a goalkeeper like Hugo with his experience, with his status. I think it’s not easy but I think Paulo is doing his best, he’s coping with the responsibilities, he’s a calm guy and everybody trusts him. When sometimes people speak about the number of goals conceded, I always refuse that approach because it’s not about the goalkeeper that concedes the goals, it’s about the team that concedes the goals.”