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Football London
Football London
Sport
Robert Warlow

Wycombe Wanderers boss Gareth Ainsworth sends Jose Mourinho message ahead of Spurs FA Cup tie

Wycombe Wanderers boss Gareth Ainsworth is relishing the chance to face Jose Mourinho and Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup.

Spurs were drawn to face the Championship side at Adams Park in the fourth round of the competition as former Tottenham striker Peter Crouch pulled out the tie.

It is a repeat of the fourth round tie between the two sides in 2017, when the then-League Two Wycombe almost stunned Mauricio Pochettino's men at White Hart Lane, having gone 2-0 up and led 3-2, before Son Heung-min netted a 97th minute winner for Spurs.

And Ainsworth is hoping Wycombe can cause an upset this time around against Mourinho's men at Adams Park, having been drawn at home against the north London side.

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“It is going to be awesome. Jose Mourinho, what a manager, what a guy and it will be an absolute honour to manage against him and hopefully coming to Wycombe it will be a bit tougher than it would be for them at home," he told Wycombe's club website.

However, Ainsworth admits that he did not know initially that his side had been drawn at home against Spurs, having not been watching the draw live.

“I was out walking the dog, believe it or not," he said.

“I was still in my kit and I had the radio on, with my headphones, and believe it or not, I didn’t know we were at home. I knew we had got Spurs, but I didn’t know if it was home or away.

“My dad called me and said brilliant tie, and great to have them at home, and I thought yeah, brilliant tie.

“My phone hasn’t stopped and it is great. What a fantastic tie for a club like Wycombe Wanderers. I am so proud to lead this team into the fourth round for the third time in the club’s history and ironically it is the same team we got last time.

"We thought we had a draw at 3-3, we thought we were bringing them back to Wycombe, but we will have to get the job done this time.

"I'm not saying we can do the job, I'm saying it will be a fantastic game and we are really looking forward to it."

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