Free-scoring Spurs set for 'difficult' Burnley test

LONDON • Despite Burnley's winless start to the Premier League season, Jose Mourinho has warned his Tottenham side that they cannot afford to be complacent at Turf Moor.

Having scored 31 goals in their last nine matches in all competitions, Spurs have little issue going forward but remain suspect defensively, as evident in their 3-3 draw with West Ham.

Mourinho's men face Sean Dyche's side today and while he admitted the visitors are feeling "confident", he also feels that the Clarets are better than their third from bottom position suggests.

"You will feel how strong they are by March, April when lots of teams will be fighting to avoid relegation and they will already be safe," the Spurs manager said ahead of their trip.

"Burnley is Burnley. The way they play, the players they have, their style of play, the manager - nothing changes there. It is always difficult, and it is going to be difficult. So I expect a very difficult match and to be scoring goals is a consequence of how well we are playing. That of course brings confidence. We will go there confident. But I have to make sure I pass to the players my feelings and my feelings don't change since the first day I played Burnley. It's difficult."

But unlike Dyche, who had a frustrating transfer window with only Dale Stephens arriving on a cut-price deal, Mourinho was able to substantially augment his squad, leaving him delighted with the quality he has at his disposal.

"Very happy with the squad," the Portuguese said. "Of course next summer, I will need to give another couple of touches but this is what you always do to improve.

"You look for example to Liverpool, how many years Jurgen (Klopp) has been there, how many transfer windows he went to the market and improved the team.

"I don't want to try and compare us with Liverpool, of course not, but what we need now is time to work and to improve our dynamic at every level."

REUTERS


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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 26, 2020, with the headline Free-scoring Spurs set for 'difficult' Burnley test. Subscribe