Jermaine Jenas has insisted that he will only judge Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho after he’s had a transfer window to stamp his mark on the squad.
Mourinho was appointed as Mauricio Pochettino’s successor in November, but while the season is currently on hold due to the coronavirus outbreak, Spurs have already crashed out of the FA Cup and Champions League.
Further, they find themselves off the pace in the battle for Champions League qualification for next season as they look to salvage something from the campaign.
Jenas has been critical of Mourinho in terms of his negativity in the media, particularly over their recent injury troubles, but he has insisted that he will reserve judgment until the summer as he believes the players are also responsible for the poor form.
“It’s not a rant but what I will say is I will reserve judgment on Jose until the summer, until he brings in his new players because I think the players haven’t been good enough,” he said on MOTDx, as quoted by the Express.
“What I don’t like about Jose at the minute is the negativity. I think he’s been far too negative in terms of the message he’s been sending out with the players.
“I know we’ve got injuries to Kane, I know Son’s injured and now [Steven] Bergwijn. But I think there needs to be a more positive structure going out to the players.
“And overall I still can’t see what the team are and how they’re trying to play.”
It remains to be seen when the Premier League resumes, but Tottenham and Mourinho will hope to end the season well and strengthen where possible in the summer.
As per BBC Sport, Mourinho himself has conceded the need for a more balanced squad next year, especially in light of the injury troubles that they’ve suffered within recent weeks with Moussa Sissoko, Harry Kane, Heung-Min Son and Steven Bergwijn all sidelined.