Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho says there is ‘no disagreement’ with Tanguy Ndombele
Ndombele #Ndombele
Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho has denied reports his relationship with midfielder Tanguy Ndombele has broken down after failing to play him in either of their two games since the restart.
The Portuguese boss insisted the player was simply not needed in the 2-0 win over West Ham, with the star also an unused substitute in the draw against Manchester United on Friday.
The pair have had a frosty past with Mourinho publicly criticising his performances on a number of occasions and the £65million Frenchman has been continually linked with moves away from the club.
Jose Mourinho has insisted there is no rift between himself and midfielder Tanguy Ndombele
The French midfielder is yet to play a minute of football for Tottenham since the restart
He has come in for serious heat earlier on this season after footage appeared to show him jogging to chase down Wolves star Pedro Neto in a 3-2 home loss in March. In the next match against Burnley Mourinho hooked him at half time following a weak display, admitting the team ‘didn’t have a midfield’.
But he denied any rift between the two following the recent report by TF1.
Asked if there was any truth in the rumours, he said: ‘No. On the bench was Tanguy, (Ryan) Sessegnon, Toby (Alderweireld), (Jan) Vertonghen, Gedson (Fernandes) and they didn’t play.
‘That’s football. For me there’s nothing. I had attacking players on the bench, (Erik) Lamela and (Steven) Bergwijn. Two great players to bring on and then Winks to give us more consistency.
The £65m man was an unused sub for the two games against Man United and West Ham
Premier League teams are allowed five substitutes in new coronavirus regulations following their return to the pitch from suspension. Against United, Mourinho used just two – Giovani Lo Celso and Gedson Fernandes.
In the win over West Ham, he continued to show restraint as he made only three alterations, and Mourinho stressed it was not always necessary to use all five subs. He added that the team were in control of the game and another sub change was not required.
‘This situation of the five changes, some people maybe think that you have to use all five changes. You don’t have to do it. You have the chances to do it.’
‘I felt that the team was fine. I never believed that 2-0 was a completely safe result because they were trying everything and one goal could change the state of mind and give them the motivation in the final minutes so I decided to keep the team stable and three changes was enough.
Mourinho has publicly criticised his performances in the past but says there is not an issue
He has underwhelmed since his big money move last summer and is linked with a move away
‘You know, it’s not just him. I try to do the best for my team. I cannot start the game with 12 or 13 players, I try to do the best for the team.
‘Sometimes I apologise to my players that are not my first choice because I feel their work in training deserves something more than I give but I have to do my job the best I can and I felt for these two matches I didn’t need him.’
The report by the French outlet says Ndombele has told Mourinho he ‘no longer wants to work with him’ during a meeting, with their relationship ‘reaching new lows’.
It goes on to say that a number of Spurs players are attempting to ‘mediate’ between the two and believe the player has performed well in training.
The club’s record buy has not lived up to expectations since his big money move from Lyon last summer. He has 12 league starts, with seven appearances coming off the bench and two strikes.
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