Jose Mourinho: Premier League winter break must consider Tottenham's Champions League tie

'No sense': Jose Mourinho on the Premier League winter break
Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty I
Dan Kilpatrick @Dan_KP5 February 2020

Jose Mourinho has criticised the timing of the Premier League winter break, saying it has failed to make any provision for clubs' Champions League schedules.

Spurs will begin their break late after Wednesday's FA Cup fourth-round replay against Southampton, and Mourinho will give his players the rest of the week off before beginning preparations for the trip to Aston Villa on Sunday, February 16.

Spurs then travel to Germany on the following Tuesday ahead of their second fixture in four days, the Champions League last-16 first leg at RB Leipzig.

Mourinho said of the so-called winter break: "I don't like it. I don’t like the way it is, especially because there is no attention to when you play Champions League.

"It would be much more normal for us to be playing this weekend and not playing before you play against Leipzig.

"But no, you have a break but then you play against Aston Villa Sunday. Not Saturday or Friday. But Sunday. So they gave you 10 days of break, but then you play on the Sunday, when you then play on the Wednesday.

"So, for me, the break doesn’t make any sense the way it is. But I don’t complain, it is what it is."

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp sparked debate by refusing to use any first-team players or personally take charge of Tuesday night's third-round replay win over Shrewsbury because it fell during the winter break.

Mourinho declined to discuss the German's decision but revealed he had prepared for every eventuality before the original tie, a 1-1 draw at St. Mary's.

"I don’t care about Jurgen," he said. "If the rules are you have to play replay, then when do you want to play it?

"When we drew against Southampton, if it is extra-time and penalties, we don’t play Wednesday. If somebody has to win, nobody plays Wednesday. But if the rules are the rules and we knew the rules since the beginning of the season.

"When I did the programme for February, which I always do by the 20th of the previous month, I did two programmes for February. One, winning or losing against Southampton. And one, having a draw. We drew, we have to adapt."

Despite this, Mourinho has long been looking forward to chance to work with his players on the training ground amid a relentless succession of matches since he succeeded Mauricio Pochettino in late November.

"No time off," he said. "Because I’m here for 10 weeks, I need to work, I need to train, I need to prepare my team the best I can, so I wouldn’t give them the whole week. So in terms of holidays, it doesn’t change much.

"I have to give them the physical rest they all need and the work will be more tactical," the Spurs manager added. "After the [Southampton] game I will give them some time off – until the beginning of next week."

While most of the squad will be resting, Mourinho said left-back Ben Davies would spend the time working to get back up to speed after returning to training on Monday.

The Welshman has been missing since suffering ankle ligament damage in Mourinho's first match in charge, the 3-2 win at West Ham on November 23.

"After Wednesday the boys are going to have some time [off] but not him, he has to stay and work," Mourinho said. "So when we start the week of Aston Villa he will be training with us fully so if everything goes well he will be good for the Villa game."

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