BBC Sport pundit Karen Carney has backed Jose Mourinho to win a trophy at Tottenham Hotspur this season.
What’s she said?
Spurs appointed the Portuguese at the end of November, replacing Mauricio Pochettino with the former Chelsea and Inter Milan boss.
He has, of course, won a trophy with every club he has managed since Porto and Carney, who won 144 caps for England and played for both Arsenal and Chelsea, believes that it is almost guaranteed that he will bring silverware to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Writing in her column, she said: “I will be very, very surprised if Jose Mourinho doesn’t win a trophy with Tottenham.
“Spurs need trophies and if there is somebody available who is an absolute winner and gets trophies wherever he goes, then why wouldn’t you get him?
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“The results from Mauricio Pochettino were not in his favour. He was underperforming and Spurs needed to change. It was not a surprise really.
“It’s a breath of fresh air to see Mourinho back in the Premier League and it will be interesting to see how he gets on against his former club Chelsea on Sunday.”
Carney also believes that Mourinho has changed and is employing the tactics that were so successful during his first stint at Chelsea.
She added: “Mourinho has gone back to his old ways, like when he first came to Chelsea between 2004 and 2007 and won back-to-back league titles. He is trying to win the players over.
“I think he was worn out when he went to Manchester United because he went from club to club with no rest. He looked like a tired man. He has had time off and now he looks really refreshed.
“He is saying all the right things and protecting his players. He is talking in the way that made people fall in love with him in his first spell in the Premier League. He is not the rash manager we saw at Manchester United.”
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The final step
Spurs need to take the next step.
Under Mauricio Pochettino, they were consistently challenging for major honours, including both the Premier League and the Champions League, but they never managed to get over the line and win silverware.
Mourinho, as Carney says, is exceptional at doing just that, at hoovering up medals and honours.
At Spurs, he is back with a club looking to punch up and challenge the established order, just as he was at Porto and during his first stint at Stamford Bridge.
It remains to be seen if he can replicate the success he had at those two clubs but he has enjoyed a fine start, winning four out of five league games.
A win over Chelsea this weekend would go a long way to underlining those credentials.
Meanwhile, Football FanCast has learned of Spurs’ ideal plan for Christian Eriksen’s departure.