Jose Mourinho reveals what he told his players before defeat at Old Trafford

Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho has revealed what he told his players at Old Trafford, stating that they should not to be fooled by Manchester United’s poor form after his old club failed to beat Bournemouth, Sheffield United and Aston Villa in recent weeks.

But after scoring in a 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford, Alli admitted they failed to heed their manager’s warning.

Mourinho confirmed that he had warned his players what to expect, drawing on his experience of United playing better against the bigger teams because they can counter-attack.

“I tried to fight exactly that state of mind,” he said.

“I tried to tell them exactly the way United approach these matches at home – against Liverpool, against Chelsea, always the strong start with people running, pressing, trying to lift the morale of the supporters.

“Normally they come from bad results against smaller teams so when they face the big teams people think it’s going to be more difficult for them. It’s not more difficult for them because the responsibilities change and they feel comfortable in this style of play.

“We have to blame ourselves. I think United must obviously be happy with the points, and overall they deserved it.”

Sportsmail reports that the former United boss went into the home dressing-room after the game and congratulated his successor Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

“No problem, what’s the problem?” said Mourinho. “I have nothing against him, I think he has nothing against me. Why should we have any kind of problem?”

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