Jose Mourinho has used a revived Tanguy Ndombele as an example of how to get your Tottenham career back on track, in what looks like a clear message to Dele Alli.
Alli has been frustrated by his absence in the Tottenham lineup in the last few games.
He has been a key member of the Tottenham team since he joined them from MK Dons in 2015, but his performances have dropped recently and Mourinho is in no mood to play him just because of his status at the club.
Ndombele was in a similar position at the club until recently and it seemed like the Frenchman would be leaving north London after just a season.
He was axed from the starting XI by Mourinho during project restart, but he has returned this season as a better player.
The Portuguese manager has now used him as an example of how a player should get back into his first-team plans instead of moaning.
Spurs boss Mourinho said via Mirror Sports: “That’s what I want. I don’t want players to moan, I don’t want players to be feel frustrated, I don’t want players to feel that I have something against them when I don’t pick them up.
“I want players to fight for the minutes that they want to be on the pitch and when you play for Tottenham, you have to understand that Tottenham wants to be better and for the rewards are to be better and better and the players cannot have a comfortable position on the pitch.
“They have to be ready to fight for the minutes they want to be on the pitch.”
But Mourinho insists Ndombele is evidence that things can change quickly. “I just think that he felt the direction which it was going was not the right one and it’s something that players with me, they feel all of the time that I don’t give positions for free,” said Mourinho.
“The players have to fight, they have to perform, I would never give him a place in the team because he was an expensive buy or because he’s an important player.
“He has to do that by himself, probably with the help of his colleagues, with the help of his team mates, he went in a good direction.
“Let’s wait and see, Premier League matches are much more difficult matches than this one. The intensity is completely different, the quality of the opponent is much better. But against Southampton, even for 45 minutes, he had positive things.
“I say all the time, when a player improves it’s a player’s responsibility, it’s the player’s credit, it’s not the coach who makes the miracle. The player that does that by himself, to understand what he has to understand and go in the right direction that he has to go.
“Tanguy, step by step, is doing very well. He was good and brought a very good dynamic to the team, he managed to recover some balls, managed to make an effort in defensive transitions. And of course it was a positive game for him.”
