Jose Mourinho knows why Tottenham are struggling, but he will not share it with us.
And he may never.
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Speaking to reporters ahead of Tottenham’s game with Everton on Friday (start time, 3pm ET on NBCSN and online via NBCSports.com), Mourinho was asked why his team keep losing leads.
They were 1-0 up against Manchester United on Sunday but lost 3-1, and they have now dropped the second-highest number of points from winning positions this season in the Premier League.
Heading into this game against Everton they sit six points off the top four with seven games to go.
“I know why it happened and I know also that you can look at it in a different perspective. A team that starts matches well and starts winning matches means something positive, means something positive that you like to forget – the positive aspect of that,” Mourinho said. “But I agree with you in the sense that if you’re in winning positions and you lose points from winning positions, there are also negative things side by side to it.”
Mourinho was then pushed on the reasons why it keeps happening.
“That’s what I’m not ready to discuss with you,” Mourinho added. “I think it has to do with some of our qualities as a team but I’m not ready to discuss with you.”
Asked when he would be ready to discuss the reasons, Mourinho simply said: “Maybe never.”
Mourinho is reverting to type
After his outburst against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s comments on Heung-min Son, these latest cryptic answers point to Mourinho reverting to type.
For most of this season he’s been fairly happy, upbeat and positive, but he is starting to play mind games and appears to be telling Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy that there is a big, big problem with this current Spurs squad and the mentality is all wrong.
If Mourinho knows what is wrong, how long will it take him to fix it? Can he fix it? And will he be given the time to fix it? Those are the big questions, and Mourinho has to start answering them. Fast.