Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho has blamed his side’s recent defeat to rivals Chelsea on the continued shutout of supporters.

Spurs went down 1-0 in last week’s behind-closed-doors derby and were second best until a late rally, which nearly saw them snatch an equaliser.

Mourinho’s side visit Everton in the FA Cup fifth-round on Wednesday, aiming to capitalise on the reduction in home advantage caused by the ongoing absence of fans.

The Portuguese believes results across the top-flight are being particularly impacted by the situation, including Spurs’s abject defeat to the Blues, report Evening Standard.

“The FA Cup is a special competition that even with a full stadium, normally weak teams would take much more supporters than in the Premier League,” he said.

“So I felt that playing at home or away always allowed a different atmosphere than in the Premier League.

“In the Premier League I have to admit that it’s one thing to play with full stadiums and another to play with empty stadiums. I believe that every coach tries, like I try, to make the players feel good feelings, but the reality is a completely different story.

“I believe that has an impact in some of the results.

“Let’s just give an example. We were losing against Chelsea 1-0, we were playing much better in the second half than first half. The last 20 minutes the team started pressing a lot and being closer. I believe, I believe that stadium full could make an impact on the team and I think this happens in every stadium.

“So the public makes a difference, I believe so.

“We’re going [to fight] until the last match like we did last season and after the last match when everybody’s played two matches against every opponent, we’ll have a clear idea of what the team achieved and what the team deserves to achieve,” Mouinho said.

“At this moment there’s still almost 50 per cent of the competition to play. It looks a little bit strange but the reality is we didn’t play yet against Villa but we played twice Liverpool, twice against Chelsea, in a few days we play twice against Man City. It looks like somebody threw all the big opponents to us at the same time.”

Chelsea have already held talks over a potential summer deal to land Dayot Upamecano, according to reports.

Thomas Tuchel’s side are in a transfer tug-of-war alongside Man Utd, Liverpool and Bayern Munich for the defender’s signature.

Upamecano, 22, is hot property with the centre-back set to leave RB Leipzig for a bargain £38million this summer.

Tuchel has made the player top of his priority list and is keen to bolster his defensive ranks at the end of the season.

Upamecano is eyed as a long-term successor to Thiago Silva who turns 37 later this year.

According to Bild, Chelsea have already opened talks with the player’s agent to start laying the groundwork over a summer switch.

Thiago Silva is reportedly willing to extend his Chelsea deal – but David Alaba’s wages are a problem for the Blues.

The 36-year-old centre-back Silva has impressed after joining on a free from PSG in the summer.

New Blues boss Thomas Tuchel is a fan of his experience and leadership.

And Fabrizio Romano reports that Silva is keen on signing a contract to stay at Stamford Bridge beyond the end of the season.

But the Blues face a massive hurdle in their bid to lure Alaba from Bayern Munich.

The 28-year-old is in the final year of his contract with the German giants and set for a free transfer this summer.

But his £400,000-a-week wage demands are a problem for Chelsea, the Telegraph reports.

Former Chelsea flop Juan Sebastian Veron has revealed he regrets signing for the club from Man Utd.

He told FourFourTwo: “I felt that going to Chelsea could have been a good chance for me to get a longer sequence of matches, but I shouldn’t have gone there.

“I don’t say that because of Chelsea, though. It’s nice to have a club wanting to sign you, excited that you can do something for them. To make an investment like that, the club has to believe in you and trust you.

“I actually found it tougher to live in London than Manchester because I’m from La Plata, which is quite a small city.

“I wish I could have stayed at United longer, as I believe I could have done things differently.

“If I’d stayed in Manchester, I think I would have had more continuity on the pitch.”

Chelsea’s Champions League Round of 16 first leg clash against Atletico Madrid is set to be switched to either Bucharest or Warsaw.

Spanish government restriction on travel from the UK mean the Madrid outfit cannot host the match.

Meanwhile, Uefa have confirmed Man United’s Europa League tie with Real Sociedad next week will be played in Turin.

It will instead be played at the Juventus Stadium on Thursday February 18, kicking off at 5.55pm.

United will still be able to play the second leg at Old Trafford a week later.

Euro chiefs are also expected to confirm both legs of Arsenal’s Europa League tie with Portuguese giants Benfica will be played in Rome’s Stadio Olimpico.