It is not often that silence speaks volumes when Jose Mourinho is around. Yet, the usually outspoken 56-year-old found an innovative way of hinting at his true feelings when asked about the Amazon Prime documentary which places his every move under relentless scrutiny.
Sat upstairs on an arm of a sofa at Spurs Lodge, Mourinho was addressing the written press at the end of his first televised conference as Mauricio Pochettino’s successor. The broadcast section never truly finishes for him, however, as two cameras pursue him up the stairs to what is supposed to be a quieter setting.
Mauricio Pochettino is said to have been dismayed by the decision to allow privacy to be breached throughout the training complex, with cameras even installed in his office.
While on his managerial hiatus, Mourinho famously had a dig at Manchester City over their All or Nothing series by claiming, “You can be a rich club and buy all the best players in the world, but you cannot buy class”.
So, how wary of the Amazon documentary was he and is he happy to work with them in his new role? Instead of answering that question, Mourinho got to his feet and pulled a radio microphone pack from his pocket. He then tapped it with his finger before putting that same finger up against his lips.
No words, but the inference was clear. Mourinho was clearly relishing his return to the spotlight but here was a reminder that, for him, the cameras are never turned off. Someone will always be watching, listening. He will be, on some level, constantly putting on an act. And in that context, an intriguing aspect of this undeniably fascinating appointment will be to see whether the new, humble version of Mourinho he tried to sell yesterday is sincere.
Saturday's match at West Ham offers an immediate test, given the identity of the man in the opposite dugout. Manuel Pellegrini and Mourinho do not like each other. The hostility dates to 2010, when Mourinho succeeded Pellegrini as Real Madrid boss and the former took a swipe at the latter - that’s the Mourinho we know - by claiming if he left the Bernabeu “I won’t be going to coach Malaga - I will go to a big club in the Premier League or Serie A”. He also called him “Mr Pellegrino” for good measure.
The pair refused to shake hands when Mourinho jumped into the crowd to celebrate a last-minute winner for Chelsea against Pellegrini’s City in 2013. “I did not expect anything different from him,” said Pellegrini afterwards.
After trading barbs over Mourinho’s claim Chelsea were a “little horse” in the title race - “little but rich” - the Blues won the Premier League in 2015, leading Pellegrini to comment: “When he wins, Mourinho wants to take credit for everything. I never do that.”
Pellegrini continued the verbal attack in his autobiography but declined to renew hostilities when addressing the media this week. Mourinho was not asked a single question about Pellegrini in an hour of interviews on Thursday.
Last week, this match looked like being billed as the battle of two managers under pressure. Spurs pushed the reset button first and somewhere inside, Mourinho would surely relish the opportunity to strike the decisive blow in ending Pellegrini’s tenure.
Tottenham have not won an away League game since January and have conceded at least once in their last seven matches, yet Mourinho suggested he is not about to overhaul the team.
“I am going to try to add some details and sometimes details can make the difference,” he said. “We will arrive to a fingerprint, but the style of play has to be always adapted not just to the club culture but to the players’ qualities. So these are the players, they have the qualities, adapted to a certain way of playing, and that’s the way I want to do it.”
And those cameras will document every step of the journey.
