Tottenham Hotspur defender Danny Rose says “serial winner” Jose Mourinho will be targeting winning the FA Cup this season.
One of Mourinho’s remits at Spurs is to end their 12-year trophy drought and the oldest cup competition is their best bet this season.
They must overcome Championship side Middlesbrough in a third-round replay on Tuesday for the right to play Southampton in the fourth round.
Former boss Mauricio Pochettino openly said that winning the FA Cup cannot compare to finishing in the top four, but Mourinho has always taken every cup competition seriously. He is expected to name a strong side against Boro in order to get the job done.
“Whoever we played, Mauricio wanted to win. Period,” Rose said, defending his former boss’ approach to the competition. Whatever team he put out, he fully believed that team could win. It’s no different with the manager now. It’s obvious that he’s a serial winner. Wherever he goes he wins trophies. That’s a fact.
“Whatever team he puts out on Tuesday will be a team he fully expects to win and it’s obvious that the FA Cup is something he has an eye on this season.”
Spurs are nine points behind Chelsea in the race for the Premier League top four following Saturday’s loss to Liverpool, but Rose has not given up hope of clawing that back.
“The top four is a bit harder now, but when he took over we were 12 points behind and we managed to get it to three,” he said.
“We maybe took one step back but we have shown we can close the gap but it is just a case of winning on Tuesday and then again at Watford on Saturday, that’s going to be a massive test.”
One of the positives of their loss to Liverpool at the weekend was the performance of debutant Japhet Tanganga, who was handed a first Premier League appearance by Mourinho.
He did well in keeping Sadio Mane shackled and looked every bit a top-flight player.
“He was unreal. So happy for him,” Rose said. “At the start of the week we sort of knew our team and it was a bit of a surprise but I am so happy for him.
“He set the tone for us. He was so aggressive and he kept Mane quieter than usual and that is the first of quite a few appearances for Tottenham.”
PA
