Jose Mourinho insists rearranged Tottenham vs Fulham game is 'positive solution'

Jose Mourinho says Tottenham's rearranged fixture with Fulham on Wednesday is a 'positive solution' after their proposed game with Aston Villa was postponed.

The Premier League made the decision on Monday as it was decided Villa could not field a suitable team, having used an XI of youth players during their FA Cup tie with Liverpool on Friday night. Fulham boss Scott Parker has revealed he is unhappy with the amount of time given to prepare his side.

Speaking in his pre match press conference on Tuesday, Mourinho said: "The biggest impact is to have matches postponed. That is the biggest impact. The changing of the order of the matches, the impact is minimal I would say.

"In the end you have to play 19 matches at home and 19 away, and two matches against every team. So if it's to help the Premier League to go and to end properly, it's a solution we all have to accept as a positive solution."

'No FA Cup celebrations in Premier League'

A number of videos of teams celebrating their cup wins circulated on social media over the weekend, with the likes of Chorley and Crawley enjoying their victories without employing much social distancing in their changing rooms.

Mourinho quashed any suggestion that the Premier League could be compared to those specific celebrations, stating: "In terms of dressing rooms, I don't believe that at Premier League level in any team's dressing rooms we have this kind of celebrations just by winning three points in the Premier League.

"When you go down to the FA Cup, to giant killings, to incredible moments for some clubs and players' careers, that can happen. Because it's the wild emotion of football that can push to that.

"The reality is that the big exposure was some celebrations after matches in the dressing room. And in the normal situation, that's the beauty of football, of a small team beating the giant. But in this moment, they have to control and adapt."

'Are you serious?'

While Cottagers manager Parker has made his disagreement with the rearranged game known, when asked whether it was fair to Fulham Mourinho retorted by referencing the late decision to postpone the original game in late December.

"Are you serious? They had 48 hours to prepare for this game. I had the news I was not going to play them two hours before the game started."

Updates on Erik Lamela and Giovani Lo Celso

Lo Celso has not featured for Tottenham since the 2-0 home defeat to Leicester, and both he and Erik Lamela were caught spending Christmas together alongside Sergio Reguilon in breach of the United Kingdom's current coronavirus restrictions.

"[Lo Celso] is injured. For a few weeks."

When asked if Lamela is available, Mourinho added: "He is but I don't know, but I think you understand what I want to mean. He can be selected for tomorrow [Wednesday], he can. Legally he can but I still have a decision to make."

Harry Winks' future

England international Winks has been linked with a move away from Tottenham in recent months. He has come into the starting XI more often in recent weeks but recent reports have claimed La Liga outfit Valencia are eyeing up a move for the midfielder.

"What do I have to say to stop with this talk? I said already, he’s going nowhere. He’s going nowhere. So when I say he’s going nowhere, what more do you want me to say?

"He’s played the last matches. He didn’t play the last one, was a decision to let play other players like Gedson and players that are not basically playing many minutes. Tomorrow [Wednesday] he’s selected again. And if somebody is speaking with other clubs, my advice is don’t lose your time, don’t lose your time because he’s going nowhere."

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