Watch Tottenham vs Everton live on Sky Sports Premier League on Monday from 7.30pm; kick-off 8pm
Saturday 4 July 2020 14:17, UK
Jose Mourinho insists finishing outside the top six is not the end of the world and could provide a catalyst for positive change for Tottenham going forward.
Tottenham host 11th-placed Everton, live on Monday Night Football, in a fixture which has emerged as an unlikely six-pointer with the Toffees able to leapfrog Spurs with victory in north London.
Mourinho's side are ninth heading into what looks like a must-win game if Spurs are to mount a serious challenge for a Champions League place, particularly with all of the teams immediately above them in action before the Everton match.
Tottenham have finished in the top six every year since the 2008/09 season, and asked if he believes Spurs can keep that run going, Mourinho said: "I believe, but it is also possible that does not happen. And if that does not happen it is not the end of the world. If that does not happen, it is probably the beginning of a new world because things change.
"Change for you, change for other clubs. The squads they change. The motivations they change, the group dynamic changes. The group that possibly was strong 10 years is ago is not strong anymore. A player that was in the maximum of his motivation is not anymore and vice-versa.
"It is also possible that we don't get into a top-six position.
"And if that happens of course we have to look at it not smiling, but we have to look at it with optimism and look at it with a professional profile of next season has to be different.
"Because if you analyse Tottenham for example last year, how many matches did Tottenham win away from home? When I arrived I think it was almost a year without an away victory.
"If it happens (finishing outside of the top six), it happens but we don't want it to happen and we are going to fight for it not to happen."
Mourinho said he was "destroyed a little bit on the inside" by his side's lack of fight in Thursday's loss at Sheffield United.
Spurs were beaten 3-1 in a game which saw skipper Harry Kane denied what would have been an equaliser due to a controversial VAR handball ruling against Lucas Moura in the build-up.
"There was a lot in the game, there was a possibility of shortening distances to Champions League positions, there was the possibility of being more stable for the Europa League positions fight," Mourinho said.
"I believed in the evolution of the team and I thought that by a desire point of view, they put more than us.
"That's something that disturbs me. It's something that I feel, I don't know, that's my way of being - it's something that destroys me a little bit on the inside because I think the last thing in football is when you have the feeling you could, you should do more."
Dele Alli is a doubt for Tottenham's clash with Everton after picking up a hamstring injury in training.
The England international, who has a history of such problems, picked up the issue on Saturday, but Jose Mourinho does not know if he will be fit.
"Something today in training with Dele Alli," Mourinho said. "I don't think it's big. I don't really know what it is.
"The bad thing of press conference 48 hours before a game is another training session tomorrow.
"Hamstring, which is something he's had problems with in the past, even in this season, and is always something that makes the medical department think about it.
"We all think that it's nothing important. If you ask me in this moment I think he will be available but I don't know."
You can watch the game live on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event, with our TV build-up kicking-off at 7.30pm in the Monday Night Football studio to preview the game.
You can also follow our dedicated live match blog across our digital platforms, where you will be able to watch all the major incidents via our expanded mobile clips service and keep up to date with all the action, including commentary, analysis and team line-ups.
Match highlights will be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel 15 minutes after full time.
