Jose Mourinho says Jurgen Klopp is WASTING his time complaining and must adapt to hectic demands of Premier League schedule because ‘nothing changes’: ‘What he knows from 2015, I know since 2004… that’s the way it is’
- Klopp hit out at fixture congestion and the TV schedule amid an injury crisis
- Mourinho was making the same points to the Premier League 16 years ago
- Tottenham face Ludogorets less than 72 hours before derby with Chelsea
- The Blues will have more time to prepare after beating Rennes on Tuesday
Jose Mourinho has warned Jurgen Klopp that his cries for help over player welfare are sure to go unheeded and there is no solution other than adjust to English football.
Klopp has complained about fixture congestion and the TV schedule amid an injury pile up at Liverpool but Mourinho claims he was making the same points 16 years ago.
‘Klopp arrived by 2015,’ said the Tottenham boss. ‘I arrived in 2004 so what he knows from 2015, I know since 2004. And nothing changes. We have to adapt to it and that’s the way it is.’
Jose Mourinho (above) claims he was complaining about fixture congestion 16 years ago
Mourinho is preparing for a Europa League tie against Ludogorets of Bulgaria while trying to keep players fresh for Sunday’s London derby against Chelsea in the Premier League.
Frank Lampard’s team will have more time to prepare after beating Rennes in the Champions League on Tuesday to secure their place in the knock-out phase with two games to spare.
‘They were lucky this week that the draw gave them a Tuesday match,’ said Mourinho. ‘That’s not a new thing, that happens all the time. We knew since we went into the Europa League so we’re not going to complain about it. We knew we were to always play on the Thursday.’
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp slammed broadcasters over kick-off times and the schedule
Mourinho will make changes to the team which beat Manchester City on Saturday and confirmed Toby Alderweireld will be out for up to four weeks with a hip muscle problem.
‘The Toby injury has a relation with an accumulation of minutes,’ added the Spurs boss. ‘It’s bad news, he was playing his best football but the injury is not as big as we immediately thought.’
Defensive options, however, are limited in the midst of tough set of fixtures. Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Liverpool and Leicester follow after the Chelsea game.
Midfielder Naby Keita has joined the growing injury list at the Premier League champions
Centre-back Joe Rodon, signed from Swansea in October, is not registered for the Europa League and Japhet Tanganga has barely played in this season. Matt Doherty is available after a positive Covid test while on international duty.
And Tottenham have little margin for error in Group J after losing in Antwerp last month.
‘It’s a dangerous group,’ said Mourinho. ‘It’s a group where you will need a lot of points to qualify. It’s not one of those groups where sometimes eight or nine points are enough.’
Spurs defender Toby Alderweireld will be out for up to four weeks with a hip muscle injury
