The Portuguese boss has downplayed the prospect of a possible title challenge for his side despite their impressive recent form
Jose Mourinho says he’s not getting carried away with Tottenham‘s bright start to the 2020-21 season, insisting that winning a few games isn’t going to put him “on the moon”.
Tottenham have risen to fourth in the Premier League standings after their first seven fixtures of the new campaign, two points behind current leaders Southampton with a game in hand.
Spurs could move to the summit if they beat West Brom this weekend and reigning champions Liverpool and Leicester City each fail to win, with Mourinho now being tipped to bring the club’s long wait for major silverware to an end.
The Portuguese won three Premier League titles over the course of two spells at Chelsea, and his winning mentality seems to be rubbing off on a squad which has been starved of success on the biggest stage.
The Lilywhites head into their clash with the Baggies on Sunday fresh from a 3-1 Europa League win over Ludogorets , and will be expected to pick up another comfortable three points against Slaven Bilic’s struggling side.
Mourinho does not wish to look beyond Tottenham’s latest Premier League fixture though, with the prospect of a potential title challenge not occupying his thoughts at this early stage of the season.
Asked if he feels Spurs are on the path towards top-flight glory, the 57-year-old told a press conference: “No no no. I have years of football experience and it is not a couple of victories that put me on the moon and it is not a couple of defeats that send me down to hell,” he said.
“It’s all about balance, taking it match by match, looking for improvement and seeing what happens.”
Mourinho went on to express dissatisfaction over the results which have gone against Tottenham, adding: “I expected a couple of more points in the Premier League.
“We lost points we shouldn’t have and also in the Europa League we have six points now when I expected to have nine.”
The former Chelsea boss also addressed the position Bilic currently finds himself in at West Brom, with the Croatian considered to be on borrowed time at the Hawthorns after a winless start to their first campaign back in the top-flight.
“I don’t know if he is under pressure or not. If he is, it is difficult to understand because he has helped the club in such a difficult position after being relegated,” said Mourinho.
“He brought them back to the Premier League and we started the season just a couple of months ago. It is also a strange league at the moment.
“You win a game you are up in the table, you lose one and you are back down again. So I really don’t understand why he is under pressure, if that is the case.
“But he is a big boy and he has a lot of experience which can help his club and I am sure he can cope with anything he has to deal with, but he is a good guy.”
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