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Jose Mourinho tears into Tottenham stars after Europa League defeat to Antwerp
Jose Mourinho made a raft of changes at half-time in the 1-0 defeat to Antwerp on Thursday night.
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Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho admitted he wanted to change his entire line-up at half-time after seeing his side slip to a 1-0 loss against Royal Antwerp. Mourinho made nine changes to his squad from the team who beat Burnley on Monday night.
Players such as Dele Alli, Carlos Vinicius and Gareth Bale all earned a rare start having barely featured so far this season.
But Spurs were toothless in the opening 45 minutes, barely threatening Jean Butez.
And they were duly punished for some sloppy play in the half-hour mark when Dieumerci Mbokani broke the offside trap before laying the ball off to Lior Refaelov to fire past Hugo Lloris.
Mourinho responded by making four substitutions at the break, including hauling off Alli, Vinicius and Steven Bergwijn.
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Bale didn't last much longer as he was soon taken off for Harry Kane.
Tottenham improved in the latter stages but they still failed to register a single shot on target as Antwerp held on for a famous victory.
And Mourinho didn't hold back in his assessment of his side's performance.
"I would like to make 11 [changes]!" Mourinho said.
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"I didn't make five as was afraid of a long 45 minutes.
"At half-time I tried to improve the situation but was not enough.
"Second half we improved. In the end Antwerp got what they deserved.
"The best team won and the worst team loss."
Mourinho made it clear before the game that tonight was an opportunity for those on the fringes to stake their claim for a regular starting spot.
But the Spurs boss admitted the performance against Antwerp has made his selection process much easier going forward.
"You know what our best team is," Mourinho added.
"I always like to think the players deserve an opportunity. We have a big squad.
"It's also their opportunity to catch the chance with both hands and ask for more.
"Tonight my future choices are going to be very easy."