‘You understand how he behaves’ – Tottenham star on another collision course with Mourinho after recent outburst

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Everyone knows that Jose Mourinho can be a spiky character at the best of times, and with an ego as big as his, he is an acquired taste.

Players, members of staff, media or otherwise all know what the Portuguese is like and capable of.

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An acid tongue and bullish personality to boot, he often appears to revel in rubbing people up the wrong way, but it can’t be denied that he is a motivator supreme.

Tanguy Ndombele seemed destined to leave Tottenham Hotspur as quickly as he’d arrived, but looking back, it appears Mourinho’s harsh words helped, rather than hindered him.

That said, the Frenchman’s choice of words may have put him back on a collision course with his manager.

“If you know Mourinho then you understand how he behaves,” he ill-advisedly said to The Guardian.

“I wouldn’t call it confrontation. He’s just got a certain way of sending his messages and it all depends on how you receive those messages.

“How did his public criticisms make me feel? Quite simply, I needed to fight for myself.

“Of course, it’s never nice when you hear those things about you. But the most important thing is to work really hard, fight and turn the situation around.

“Thankfully, that’s something I’ve managed to do.”

Mourinho could start a fight even if he was the only person in a room, however, he’ll surely understand that his player wasn’t intending to get his back up.

As can be seen since those early days, Ndombele’s improvement has been vast, and that has to be attributed to both his own mental strength as well as his manager’s particular type of approach.

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