Jose Mourinho might have a battle on his hands right now to get Tottenham Hotspur into the top four but Shaun Wright-Phillips believes his former manager will turn the north London club into a real force.
The Portuguese has had to contend with Spurs losing Harry Kane and then Son Heung-min to serious injuries, with no other strikers signed to fill the gap.
That has left Mourinho to try to find goals and a system that does not require strikers and after a run of five wins and two draws, Tottenham suffered a tough few days in losing narrowly to RB Leipzig and Chelsea in the Champions League and Premier League respectively.
On top of that Spurs are missing Moussa Sissoko and have fitness problems with Tanguy Ndombele and Erik Lamela.
Wright-Phillips was just 23 when he moved to Chelsea to play under Mourinho and he is indebted to his development under him.
"For me when I moved to Chelsea from Manchester City to play under somebody like Mourinho was a breath of fresh air," he said.
"He taught me a lot, I learnt a different way to play football and I enjoyed every last minute of my time there."
The former England winger believes that while the game has changed, Mourinho will adapt to it.
"I think he is still the same quality manager, I just feel like the game has evolved. The game has changed a bit, every two or three years it changes," explained the 38-year-old.
"Three years ago teams in the Premier League never used to play the way that Liverpool and Man City do but now everyone plays football. It is less direct football and maybe he has seen that and he has to change the way he manages a bit."
Mourinho has only been at Tottenham for three months but has already received criticism for the football the club are playing under his stewardship.
Wright-Phillips believes his former manager just needs time to balance out the results and the performances.
"That's the English way to criticise. People say Spurs haven't been playing that well but at one point they were 11 points behind Chelsea," he explained.
"Not playing that well and without all the players he might want to buy, they still managed to close the gap before the last game at Chelsea.
"It shows what he is capable of and it shows Tottenham could be a force to be reckoned with towards the end of this season and for all of next season."
