Tottenham Star Admits Jose Mourinho 'Scared' Him At First

Tottenham Hotspur star Moussa Sissoko opened up about being “scared” of Jose Mourinho and the renowned manager’s ability to make the Spurs serious title contenders this season.

Mourinho is often adored by the players he has worked with, and his Tottenham squad is no different. However, Sissoko, who was on his fourth year with the Spurs when Mourinho arrived, admitted that he used to be intimidated by the award-winning coach.

"[I was] a little anxious because you don’t know [him] and he is a strong man with a lot of character, you don’t know exactly what you will get," Sissoko recently told Standard Sport. "Of course, you know you will get a good manager with a lot of experience but, when it comes to relationships, you are a little bit scared!"

In Mourinho’s debut season, Tottenham didn’t make the UEFA Champions League. However, the team has managed to bounce back this season and is just a few points behind Leicester City in the Premier League standings.

For Sissoko, Tottenham is fortunate to have a manager like Mourinho, who can turn things around and win games.

“It's good to have a manager who knows how to win,” Sissoko said in a separate interview with The Mirror. “It's as simple as that. Every club wants to win trophies, to win every week. Of course, everyone would like to have a team playing great football, creating a lot of chances and giving the opponents no occasion to score.”

“But the main thing is to win games,” he added. “He [Mourinho] knows how to do it and he's done it many times. But he also knows how to play, to give a difficult time to the opponent. Having a mix of both is perfect. So let's use it.”

The Spurs are set to face Manchester City Saturday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Ahead of the match, Sissoko is confident that along with Mourinho and the stacked Spurs squad, his side has a great chance of beating any team, including City.

“Yes, there is a big opportunity,” the 31-year-old said of Tottenham’s upcoming match against City. “We can see the league is very open. A lot of teams are losing points so it's tight. We have a good and big team so we can beat anyone in this league.”

“Of course, it's City but we are Tottenham: we don't have to be afraid of them,” he added. “If we want to go far in this league, we have to beat them of course.”