Tottenham star Dele Alli says he’s to blame – not Jose Mourinho – for his career’s downward turn in the last two years.
The midfielder was once one of the most sought-after players in world football following a breathtaking few seasons in north London after a £5m move from MK Dons.
Alli hit double figures in each of his first three seasons at Spurs but his game went off the boil during Mauricio Pochettino’s final season at the club and one of Mourinho’s first motives was to help Alli get himself back on track.
Mourinho was fond of Alli as a player but critical of his application off the pitch, calling the midfielder ‘f*****g lazy’ during a training session that aired on the All or Nothing Amazon documentary.
‘The only person I blame is myself,’ he said to Goal.
‘I should be performing at a level where it is difficult to not put me in the team or not play me.
‘I don’t blame anyone but myself. Working with Mourinho was a great experience and one I learned a lot from.’
On his appointment at Spurs, Mourinho revealed that the ‘only’ piece of advice that Sir Alex Ferguson had given him during his two-and-a-half years at Old Trafford was to buy Alli.
‘Sir Alex Ferguson gave me only one piece of advice in two-and-a-half years (at Manchester United) – buy Dele Alli,’ Mourinho said, before quoting Ferguson. “That guy, that mentality, the way he plays, the aggression he has in his mind, this guy is a Manchester United player. Buy that guy”. And he has an eye for players.
‘But he (Alli) is not a good trainer, we need to find the right motivation for the guy.’
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