Dimitar Berbatov has warned Tottenham’s players they must ‘work hard’ for their places as Jose Mourinho has ‘earned the right to take no s***’ due to his exemplary CV.
Spurs announced on Tuesday evening that Mauricio Pochettino had been relieved of his duties after five years in charge of the club and Mourinho was announced as the Argentine’s successor the following morning.
Mourinho inherits a team struggling down in 14th place in the Premier League and the Portuguese has a monumental task in bringing back a confidence which flowed through Tottenham’s dressing room last season when they reached the Champions League final.
A number of Tottenham’s top stars have failed to perform in a dismal start to the campaign but Berbatov expects Mourinho to transform the club’s fortunes.
However, the Bulgarian insists Tottenham’s key players must fully buy into Mourinho’s project or else risk dropping down the pecking order under their new manager.
‘With his resume and the amount of trophies he has won in the Champions League, Premier League and wherever he goes, he as earned the right to take no s***, if you show him respect he will give you respect back, and he deserves that because he has proven himself by winning so much,’ Berbatov told Betfair.
‘The players will want to show him how they can play and they will be thinking that they need to prove themselves to him.
‘He will bring new ideas, a new way of playing, new exercises in training and the players will need to show themselves, all of them.
‘In every club you have that player hierarchy, you know that you are good, maybe you are the captain of the team and you know you are going to play.
‘But at the same time that doesn’t give you the right to just lay back and play off your name, you need to work hard and this will be the case with Mourinho.’
Berbatov added: ‘This new appointment, like every time a new manager comes in, will bring new life to the team, it will shake things up and people will wake up a bit and start proving themselves.
‘The Spurs players should be excited because they are going to play for one of the best managers in the world and it is a great opportunity for them.
‘Mourinho has had a good rest, he was watching teams playing, commentating, he will have drawn lessons and conclusions from his last job at Man United and now it’s a fresh start for him.
‘He’s taking over a great team with great players and he’s in London, the city that he loves, so for me, I think it’s the perfect match. Spurs is a team that wants to grow, develop and achieve things and I think it’s a good place for him.
‘By appointing him, the board were probably thinking ‘wherever he goes he brings trophies’ and Spurs need a trophy, we talk about it all the time.
‘He has the experience and he can bring them a trophy to feel that victory, and develop that winning mentality and get used to it.
‘He’s won so much already in his career and it will be interesting to see if he has mellowed.
‘I remember Sir Alex Ferguson telling us about how he mellowed later in his career and took more time to think about things and not reacting so impulsively, so it will be interesting to see if Mourinho does something similar at Spurs.’
Ashley Cole admits he was ‘shocked’ by the appointment but the former Chelsea left-back has backed the Portuguese to succeed in north London.
‘I’m a little bit shocked to be honest. Obviously he was a Chelsea man and then went to Man United, and now he’s back,’ the former left-back told talkSPORT.
‘I appreciate the work he did at Chelsea and what he tried to do at Man United, and this is going to be a tough test for him. It is something different for him But I think he will do well; he is a great coach and a great manager.
‘When people talk about that sort of stuff [being a Chelsea man], when they talk about rivalry, at the end of the day he wants a job and wants to get back into work. It’s a great job for him to take.
‘I don’t see why not [he can’t win trophies. Whether it is going to come sooner rather than later is the question people will ask.
‘With his qualities and experience – he knows how to win – it’s going to be interesting to see how that develops.’
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