Jose Mourinho demands ‘completely different attitude’ from Tottenham after ‘most difficult’ night of career

Dinamo Zagreb v Tottenham Hotspur - UEFA Europa League Round Of 16 Leg Two
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Dan Kilpatrick @Dan_KP19 March 2021

Jose Mourinho described Tottenham's embarrassing Europa League exit to Dinamo Zagreb as one of the "most difficult" nights of his career and demanded a "completely different attitude" from his players to save their season in the Carabao Cup Final against Manchester City.

Mourinho accused his players of a lack of professionalism and said they were beaten "on attitude" as Mislav Orsic's brilliant hat-trick sealed Dinamo's progress to the quarter-finals, with a 3-0 win after extra-time on the night and 3-2 on aggregate.

Spurs captain Hugo Lloris branded the defeat "a disgrace" and hinted at dressing-room divisions and deep-rooted problems at the club. A stunned Mourinho was left lost for words to describe the strength of his hurt post-match but said he had never felt worse after a defeat.

"For sure, it's one of the most difficult [nights of my career], I don't know if it's the most difficult one, but honestly I don't believe [I had] a similar feeling to this," he said.

"I had in Europe moments of big pain but pain caused by what football is. I lost two Champions League semi-finals on penalties. It hurts you, maybe [I'm] still bleeding.

"But the passion for football, the respect for your job is something that hurts me deeply. And I have this very bad feeling, because maybe for some people in football, it is a job or a way to make money. For me, it’s much more.

“That’s why I never lose this basics of football, which is the passion, the heart, the desire.

“The only positive thing I take from is this happiness that [Dinamo] feel at this moment. I can imagine the opposite feeling of Tottenham fans and, of course, I feel very hurt by that.”

The success of Spurs’s season now feels dependent on an unlikely top-four finish or victory over Manchester City in next month’s Carabao Cup Final.

Mourinho said his players’ attitudes would have to be transformed to beat City at Wembley on April 25.

“The only chance that we have to win a trophy this season is the final that we have to play against the next [League] champions, so it’ll be a very difficult final and, if we want to have a chance to win it, then the attitude has to be completely different.”

Spurs have little time to lick their wounds, with a visit to Aston Villa on Sunday, in what now feels like a must-win League game for Mourinho.

Harry Kane has made no secret of his desire to win silverware and his future will inevitably be in question if Spurs fail to do so this season.

BT Sport pundit Peter Crouch said: “When I look at someone like Harry Kane trudging off the pitch, I’m thinking — he’s Champions League, he shouldn’t even be playing in this competition.”

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