Jose Mourinho explained that his decision to omit Christian Eriksen from his first Tottenham starting XI was “the right decision for the club”.
Eriksen was the most-used player throughout Mauricio Pochettino’s tenure in terms of games, but will start Mourinho’s first as manager on the bench against West Ham.
The Dane is out of contract at the end of the season and expressed a desire to leave in the summer, but continued to be utilised by Pochettino in the absence of alternatives.
Mourinho has sought to draw a line under the situation by keeping Eriksen on the bench against West Ham, with Dele Alli, Lucas Moura, Son Heung-min and Harry Kane instead leading his forward line ahead of Eric Dier and Harry Winks in holding midfield.
Asked whether his preparation has focused more on motivation or tactics, Mourinho told BT Sport: “I think it’s a bit of everything.
“Motivation I think they always had. Sometimes people think, when the results are not good, that there is something related to motivation. That’s not the case. They were good professionals, and they tried their best, and that’s what they’re going to do.
“Tactically, of course, not big changes, just little important things that we think can help them to get our objectives. But I think basically it’s a combination of everything.”
On Eriksen in particular, Mourinho added: “It’s not just about continuity. Of course, the match today is very, very important, but our future is also very, very important.
“I need to understand really what is in Christian’s mind or heart and we have to make the right decision for the club.
“On top of that, I believe that Lucas and Sonny, Harry Kane, they are players with a good understanding. We are going to try to find, in the little time we have to work, some positions and some dynamic as well that can help the position.
“Let’s see if we can do it, because really I like the ideas but I like to work the ideas. This today was more about ideas than to work them. Let’s see if we can find happiness.”
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