Jose Mourinho insists his coaching techniques "are second to nobody in the world" despite his Tottenham side suffering a fifth defeat in six Premier League games on Sunday.
Tottenham's dismal run of form under the Portuguese hit a new low with a 2-1 defeat at West Ham United, leaving Spurs nine points off the top four, leaving the Europa League as their most likely avenue of a Champions League return next season.
The manner of some of those defeats have left Spurs fans frustrated, with speculation mounting that Mourinho faces the sack. However, reports in the British media speculated that it would cost Spurs around £30 million in compensation to terminate Mourinho's contract that runs until the summer of 2023, something chairman Daniel Levy is unlikely to countenance.
Spurs' alarming dip contrasts markedly from their form at the end of 2020. Mourinho's side were top of the table in mid-December, but since then they have won just three of 13 games, while the team's style of play has also been criticised as has Mourinho's handling of star players Dele Alli and Gareth Bale.
After being sacked in his second spell at Chelsea, then dismissed following a difficult stint with Manchester United, Mourinho's critics claim he is past his best.
The two-time Champions League winner's conservative tactics are often accused of being out-dated, but he was bullish when asked if he questioned his methods amid the poor run of form.
"No, not at all. Not at all. Zero," Mourinho said. "Because sometimes the results are the consequence of multiple situations in football and mine and my coaching staff's methods are second to nobody in the world."
Tottenham's current run of form is far worse than the results which saw Mauricio Pochettino sacked in 2019, with Mourinho handed the reins on one of the most lucrative contracts in the Premier League.
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West Ham v Spurs player ratings
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The Portuguese has earned 81 points after 50 league matches in charge of the London club, the lowest total at this stage in any managerial stint.
In sharp contrast, he had 126 points at the same point of his first spell in charge of Chelsea.
But Mourinho is adamant Tottenham, who are ninth in the Premier League and will contest the Carabao Cup final in April and are almost guaranteed to reach the Europa League quarter-finals, are not a club in crisis.
"I don't know what you mean by crisis," he said. "If crisis is frustration and sadness in the dressing room, I'd say so because nobody is happy and we all showed that in this game.
"When a team fights the way the team did until the last second, trying to get a different result, it's never a group crisis, because groups are in crisis when you're not together in the search for better results than you have.
"So I wouldn't say crisis, I would say a bad, a really bad run of results. That is obvious. We're losing too many matches."
Results
1. New Zealand Daniel Meech – Fine (name of horse), Richard Gardner – Calisto, Bruce Goodin - Backatorps Danny V, Samantha McIntosh – Check In. Team total First round: 200.22; Second round: 201.75 – Penalties 12 (jump-off 40.16 seconds) Prize €64,000
2. Ireland Cameron Hanley – Aiyetoro, David Simpson – Keoki, Paul Kennedy – Cartown Danger Mouse, Shane Breen – Laith. Team total 200.25/202.84 – P 12 (jump-off 51.79 – P17) Prize €40,000
3. Italy Luca Maria Moneta – Connery, Luca Coata – Crandessa, Simone Coata – Dardonge, Natale Chiaudani – Almero. Team total 130.82/198.-4 – P20. Prize €32,000
Directed: Smeep Kang
Produced: Soham Rockstar Entertainment; SKE Production
Cast: Rishi Kapoor, Jimmy Sheirgill, Sunny Singh, Omkar Kapoor, Rajesh Sharma
Rating: Two out of five stars
What is a robo-adviser?
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Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Brief scores:
Southampton 2
Armstrong 13', Soares 20'
Manchester United 2
Lukaku 33', Herrera 39'
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
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Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
