Jose Mourinho admits Tottenham are suffering from 'sadness' after Brighton loss
By Tom Gott
Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho confessed his side's confidence is at an all-time low after they fell to a hugely disappointing 1-0 loss to Brighton on Sunday.
Despite being overwhelming favourites against a Brighton side who won just one Premier League home game in 2020, Spurs looked absolutely lifeless. Despite narrowly edging possession, they were put to the sword by Graham Potter's side, who earned their victory through a first-half strike from Leandro Trossard.
Spurs appeared to be missing the impact of talisman Harry Kane, who is sidelined with an ankle injury. Neither Steven Bergwijn nor Gareth Bale managed to make up for his absence, with the latter particularly drawing criticism for a below-par performance.
Mourinho's men have won just two of their last nine Premier League games and the boss confessed that low self-esteem is proving to be a real problem right now.
"We've had five defeats in 30 matches so we can look at it in a different perspective," Mourinho told Sky Sports.
3 - José Mourinho has lost all three of his away league games against Brighton at the Amex Stadium, the first time he has ever lost three consecutive away league visits to an opponent in his managerial career. Declined. pic.twitter.com/ZNFPWoy0zk
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 31, 2021
"Every team in the Premier League has these ups and these downs. Of course now, we're in a difficult moment with results, injuries and self-esteem. A team with confidence is much better than a team with sadness. At this time, we have all these problems which sooner or later will blow over.
"At the end of the season, we'll see where we are in the league and with the cup games that we're going to play."
The defeat leaves Spurs sixth in the Premier League table, six points adrift of fourth-placed Leicester with a game in hand. However, despite their tricky run of form, Mourinho insisted he has confidence in his team's ability to recover.
"We didn't start well and my team was a bit sad," he continued. "To concede a goal at the beginning of the game brought even more sadness, and knocked our self-esteem. The team was suffering but the second half saw a completely different attitude. We were trying everything and the spirit in the second half was good.
"Some individuals were suffering with fatigue, but they tried until the last second. A defeat brings always a bad feeling, and the performance wasn't very good, but I leave with a positive feeling towards my boys."
There's no time for Spurs to lick their wounds. Mourinho's men will host rivals Chelsea on Thursday, but that game is expected to come too soon for Kane, who will remain on the sidelines for another few weeks.