AS Roma boss Jose Mourinho has opened up on his time at Tottenham, confessing that while he doesn’t have any bad feelings, them sacking him hurt but he has no regrets. Mourinho also opened up about Tammy Abraham and admitted how happy he is to see the young forward thriving in Italy.
When Tottenham sacked Mauricio Pochettino and appointed Jose Mourinho, many expected the club to hit heights they’d never achieved before. But both parties struggled to truly find a level and a footing both in the league and in Europe, as Spurs failed to finish in a Champions League spot in either of Mourinho’s seasons. However, the Portuguese manager did help them reach the League Cup final only to get sacked less than a week before the Wembley event.
Since then Spurs have appointed two managers, and one interim boss, while Mourinho has found a footing in Italy again with AS Roma, leading them to the Europa Conference League final in his first season. But the Portuguese manager still holds a tinge of regret over his time in North London and admitted that while he has no “bad feelings”, the sacking did hurt him. He also added that he has no regrets over the move as it opened “the door for me to be in Rome” and he’s “very happy to be in Rome”.
“I am in the maturity of my career and also my life where I don’t have bad feelings. I just try to accept the things the way they are. Yes. Yes it hurt. I react in a funny way when I speak with some English journalists at press conferences. I always say the joke about qualifying for the [Conference League] Final, I hope not to be sacked this time, because it’s something that doesn’t happen to too many coaches,” Mourinho told Sky Sports.
“This time I cannot say I’m the privileged one, because it happened to me. I don’t have regrets. I don’t have bad feelings. There are lots of nice people in Tottenham and I wish them the best. Even to Mr Levy. But for a guy with my career and my history I think it was a strange thing to happen. But in the end it opened the door for me to be in Rome and I’m very happy to be in Rome.
“Of course I would love to be in a position of fighting to win titles or to be in the Champions League where I played 160 or 170 games there. But I am loved here. I love the people here. I feel very much a part of the empathy created between the fans and the club and myself and the players. I’m very happy here,” he added.