Newly signed Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho confirmed that he will not be bidding for any player when the transfer window opens in January. He said the current Tottenham squad is very strong and it is not fair to judge its depth league simply based on the current league position.
Addressing media in his first press conference after inking a deal with the North London club, the former Chelsea gaffer said the pool of talent in hand is the biggest gift Tottenham have. Mourinho said what is more important for him now is to get to know his men better and work with them.
"My gift is this squad. It is a very, very good squad. So, I don't need players. I am so happy with the ones I have. But I need to get to know them. I know them well from playing against them, but you never know them well enough until you work with them." Mourinho revealed that he was interested in hiring some of the players in the current Spurs squad during his tenure at Old Trafford.
The Portugese said it is because of the same reasons that he decided to take up the job. A fantastic squad with a proper base to built upon means lesser headache for the manager. Mourinho was frank about his strategy and asked the fans not to expect any revoltionary changes from him. He praised the initiatives taken by his predecessor Mauricio Pochettino and backed the Argentine's style of management.
"I will not come here and say everything was wrong with Pochettino. Not at all. I just want to understand why results in the last year in the league have not been strong... I am not here to make dramatic changes, just follow my ideas in the progressive way," Mourinho said. "I want to respect the base which they did for five years. My plan is to update, not to change," he added.
56-year-old Mourinho was sacked by Manchester United last December, only to come back to England on November 20 as the new gaffer at the White Hart Lane. He signed a contract that runs until the end of the 2022/23 season, after Pochettino was fired following a dismal start to this season. Tottenham sit 14th in England's top flight after picking up just three wins from their opening 12 games, and were eliminated from the League Cup in September by fourth-tier Colchester United.