Mourinho’s stumbled into an era where his old methods don’t work – Jenas

Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho has “stumbled into an era” where the methods that served him so well in the past no longer work, says Jermaine Jenas.

The Portuguese has delivered success wherever he has been, with major silverware almost guaranteed for those taking him on.

Porto, Chelsea, Inter, Real Madrid and Manchester United have all enjoyed trophy triumphs under his guidance.

Questions are, however, being asked of Mourinho and his methods in the present as he struggles to make an immediate impact at Spurs.

Injuries have done him few favours, with key men such as Harry Kane and Heung-min Son ruled out, but more was expected from a coach famed for his track record.

Jenas feels the 57-year-old needs to change his ways in order the replicate the efforts of his glittering past, with modern players apparently not responding in the same way to an old school manager.

The former Tottenham midfielder told BBC Radio 5 Live: “A lot of Mourinho’s brilliance, as good as he was tactically and how much he changed things when he first came into the game, his biggest strength was in the mind and how he used to be able to galvanise a squad and make that ‘them against us’ mentality, get into certain individuals and make them raise their game by being elite in their mind.

“He would go into every single game making them believe that they are the best players in the world, making them feel like they are warriors going out onto the pitch.

“He was able to do that – when you look at the Inter performances, Chelsea – you looked at Chelsea and they appeared mentality unbeatable, they were too strong at the time.

“My fear is that he has stumbled into an era where he cannot impose those same things on a new generation. They don’t react to those methods of maybe putting them down and expecting them to respond. We are talking about a completely different era of player.

“During his Chelsea days, he may have run into certain performances where for two weeks he may not have spoken to Frank Lampard because he felt like ‘you let me down’. Frank would have gone ‘I know how to put this right and I’m going to dig deep and get back on his good side’.

“I don’t think the players today respond well to that. His last job at United tells you that and I think right now we are seeing it as well.”

Spurs have slipped off the pace in a battle for top-four finishes and will be looking to secure a first win in five across all competitions when they take in a trip to Burnley on Saturday.