Share

Bergwijn out for season, Mourinho still confident of Spurs success

Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho does not believe Dutch international Steven Bergwijn will play again this season to compound his lack of forward options with Harry Kane and Son Heung-min also sidelined by injury.

Bergwijn suffered a sprained left ankle in a 1-1 draw at Burnley on Saturday that stretched Spurs' run without a win in all competitions to five games.

However, Mourinho is bullish Spurs can spring a surprise by overturning a 1-0 first leg deficit away to Leipzig on Tuesday to progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

"I don't expect him to play again this season," said Mourinho at this pre-match press conference in Germany.

"We're used to it. I'd say we were psychologically more down with the other injuries because this one, when you've got four or five injuries, to have six or seven is the same. No problem, we are very confident."

Tottenham are eighth in the Premier League, seven points adrift of a place in the top four, and were knocked out of the FA Cup by struggling Norwich last week.

A run of poor results despite a depleted squad has raised questions over Spurs chairman Daniel Levy's decision to sack Mauricio Pochettino in November and replace the Argentine with Mourinho.

Pochettino transformed Tottenham's fortunes in five-and-a-half years in charge, but failed to turn that progress into trophies.

Mourinho has a stellar coaching CV having won 25 trophies at Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Manchester United and he is confident that he will also end Tottenham's wait for silverware.

"I believe that Tottenham is not going to be my only club without silverware," added Mourinho.

"I won at every club and I believe I'm going to do it at Tottenham.

"I'm here for three or four months. I get the team in a difficult situation, now the team is in an even more difficult situation for the problems we are having, but I believe in me, in the players, in the club and believe that during my contract I will help the club and the players to do it."

In the absence of Kane, Son and Bergwijn, the onus is on Dele Alli to deliver the goals to keep Spurs' season alive.

"This isn't a time to get our violins out. We have to show our character now as a team, everyone has to step up," said Alli.

"It's been a difficult season but we have to keep believing."

Kane returned to training on Monday, but the England captain is still some weeks away from a comeback as he recovers from hamstring surgery.

"It's a massive boost. Even when he's coming to games to watch the games, he's always speaking and trying to motivate everyone, he's a real leader," added Alli.

"I don't want him to rush it because I know how much it can come back, but at the same time we need him as well."

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
loading... Live
Mamelodi Sundowns 2
Sekhukhune United FC 1
loading... Live
Arsenal 0
Chelsea 0
Voting Booth
How much would you be prepared to pay for a ticket to watch the Springboks play against the All Blacks at Ellis Park or Cape Town Stadium this year?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
R0 - R200
32% - 1843 votes
R200 - R500
32% - 1810 votes
R500 - R800
19% - 1100 votes
R800 - R1500
8% - 470 votes
R1500 - R2500
3% - 193 votes
I'd pay anything! It's the Boks v All Blacks!
5% - 261 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE