LONDON, Dec 15 — Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho says he needs more time to build a team capable of challenging for the Premier League title, comparing the exact number of days Juergen Klopp has been in charge of defending champions Liverpool to his own tenure.
League leaders Spurs are unbeaten in the competition this season since their defeat by Everton on the opening weekend and visit Liverpool on Wednesday for top-of-the-table clash at Anfield.
Klopp called Spurs a “result machine” in his pre-match news conference but Mourinho is not getting carried away just yet.
“Result machine is what Liverpool has been for the past couple of years and what my Chelsea team was in the period we won the two consecutive titles,” Mourinho told reporters on Tuesday.
“We’re a good team that works hard but I would say Liverpool is the result of if I’m not wrong — 1,894 days of work with Juergen. If I’m wrong, I’m wrong by a few days.
“We’re the result of work of 390 days but these 390 days are fake. Because a lot of these days were not even days of work but of quarantine and days at home.”
Mourinho is also not buying that Liverpool are suffering an injury crisis, claiming Klopp is just contending with one massive loss with the long-term absence of centre back Virgil van Dijk.
“Van Dijk is injured and he is a very good player of course, but give me Liverpool’s list of injuries and compare with a list of Liverpool’s best team,” said Mourinho.
“I can give you a list of 10 injuries at Tottenham.”
Mourinho said forward Gareth Bale is unlikely to be fit for the Anfield trip, while defender Japhet Tanganga is out with a shoulder injury. — Reuters
