Jose Mourinho has warned Tottenham Hotspur will 'refuse' to put up with an overly condensed fixture list amid postponed Premier League fixtures.
A number of Premier League fixtures - including Tottenham's clash with Fulham in late December - have been postponed amid rising coronavirus cases, and the league now has the difficult issue of squeezing in those games to an already condensed fixture list.
The late start to the season meant there was already little space for manoeuvre, especially for clubs who are competing in European football, as well as the FA Cup and Carabao Cup.
Tottenham very much fall into that category, and Mourinho has been vocal about the condensed nature of his side's fixture list since the early days of the season.
And in his latest warning to the authorities, he has said Spurs will 'refuse to repeat' what they did earlier in the season when they played two Premier League games, a Carabao Cup tie and a Europa League match within the space of seven days.
"It is a completely impossible position for a club to have three matches postponed, especially if that club plays in Europe," he said in his pre-match press conference.
"We thought we might be having to play a game if we had only 14 players available from whole squad, including academy. We were prepared for that.
"We had positive cases. We cannot deny. Players, coaches, other staff. We have had problems."
He added: "The only thing we can say is that what we did in the beginning of the season is impossible to repeat and we refuse to repeat. We would never accept to play seven matches in three weeks like we did before."
Mourinho was speaking ahead of his side's FA Cup clash with non-League side Marine this weekend, and speaking about the tie, he said: "If we lose it would mean a lack of respect from us. The best way to respect them is to win.
"They want to play a Tottenham first team, and we want to give them that respect. They don't want to play an under-23 side."
