Doherty calls Mourinho one of the best managers, says 'team failed to get results'
Jun 06, 2021
London [UK], June 6 : Tottenham Hotspur's right-back Matt Doherty has accepted that the players must take responsibility for the sacking of manager Jose Mourinho.
On April 19 this year, Mourinho was sacked as the manager of Spurs after the side failed to put up consistent performances. Tottenham lost the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City and the next day, Mourinho was shown the door.
The Spurs also finished seventh in the Premier League 2020-21 standings and in the latest, Doherty has accepted that the club failed to live up to high standards set by Mourinho.
"He was only there for 18 months. If it was three or four years, it could be a different conversation, but we just were not getting the results for him," Goal.com quoted Doherty as saying.
"The manager is always the one to lose his job, but as players, we were the ones on the pitch and we were not able to get the results for him, which was a shame because he is one of the best managers ever," he added.
Under Mourinho, Doherty found himself sitting on the bench often. However, the right-back has praised the former Spurs manager.
"I definitely got a fair crack of the whip. I still played 25, 26, 27 games - that is a lot of games in a season, so I definitely got a fair crack," said Doherty.
"I had a great relationship with him. He was my neighbour for the whole year, so the relationship was fine. He was a great guy, but unfortunately, these things happen in football. That was the case, but he is Jose Mourinho, he is one of the best ever and I have nothing but praise for him," he added.
Mourinho was replaced by Ryan Mason as the manager of Tottenham on an interim basis. Doherty has made 29 appearances across all competitions for Tottenham so far and he is yet to register a goal for the club.
Mourinho has now been appointed as the manager of the Italian club AS Roma.
