If Dier Gets Punished By Spurs, It Is Not Because Of Me – Mourinho

Tottenham manager, Jose Mourinho has come out to say that he does not think Spurs will punish Eric Dier after his recent dispute with a fan.

Mourinho said he is also with the player after the frustrating incident so he is not alone.

According to him, if the club eventually decides to punish the English international, it will never be because the club manager wants it.

He added that when he joined Spurs, Dier was a sad and weak player who lacked confidence but he has improved very well since then.

His words, “I don’t know the answer [as to whether he will be disciplined],”

“The only thing I can say is that, if the club does, it’s not because I want it.

“I am with the player. I believe that the club is also with the player. So I believe there is no action from us. One thing is conversations, sharing ideas, another thing is going in that direction, which I don’t think we as a club want to go.”

“[When I arrived, in Dier] I found a player that was not playing. I found a sad player, without confidence,”

“Then I was trying to give him that confidence back. I played him immediately, and in a position I thought was his natural position (central midfield).

“[But] we needed a little bit more creation and dynamic in midfield, because we wanted to give the team an offensive character. And then, when we lost the attacking players, I thought more when you don’t have the goalscorers you need more players that have a little bit more creation, so we went a bit more in the direction of players like [Giovani] Lo Celso, even playing in a double pivot.

“Then I spoke with him (Dier) a few times. He was always giving me the idea that his best feeling would be playing as a centre-back, and my answer at that time was I think this is something to maybe start him in next pre-season.

“By different circumstances, I decided to play him against Wolves in a back-three, where I thought he would be less exposed and, with the ball, a midfield player. He played so, so well. Then I decided ‘okay, the feeling is so good, let’s go with a back-four when it is more difficult for a centre-back’. He did so, so good again. So now we have the feeling that maybe it’s his best position.

“And again, more important than what I or my assistants feels, or data says, is what the player feels. And he loves to play there. You can see his attitude on the pitch; leadership, confidence. So maybe there is a good solution for him. And in a world where there are not so many centre-backs, in this moment, at a high level, he is a good solution for us.”