Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho says he disagrees with the suggestion made by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer that winning a trophy is ‘more of an ego thing’.
Speaking last month, Solskjaer claimed that United’s progress should be judged by their position in the Premier League and suggested that winning titles can mask potential problems in the team.
‘In the league position you see if there’s any progress for me, that’s always the bread and butter of the season that you see how capable you are of coping of ups and downs any cup competition can give you a trophy but sometimes it’s more of an ego thing from other managers and clubs to finally win something,’ said Solskjaer.
‘But we need to see progress and if we perform well enough the trophies will end up at the club again. It’s not like a trophy will say that we’re back, no.
‘It’s the gradual progression of being in and around the top of the league and the consistency and the odd trophies. Sometimes a cup competition can hide the fact you’re still struggling a little bit.’
But Mourinho says his aim is to win a trophy at any club he manages and his desire to win titles is due to the mentality he has had throughout his career.
‘Of course I have a dream with Spurs,’ Mourinho told Canal Plus. ‘But first of all I have a challenge to myself, which is to try to win a trophy with every club.
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‘Some guys think that it is an ego thing, it is not an ego thing. It is more than that, it is the way that I was raised, it is the way that I grew up and it is the way where even being, I am sorry for the word, a s*** football player, always trying to win even at my level. And this is my nature.
‘So I would love to do that, that’s the challenge. But you need time, and it looks like for some reason the football world thinks everyone deserves time, But I never deserve time. I have to do it like this.’
Mourinho also suggested that the Arsenal team under Arsene Wenger were an example of ‘excellent work’ which was not rewarded by trophies.
Asked by Pires if winning is the number one priority for him, Mourinho replied: ‘No, winning is the consequence of the work you are doing.
‘You can do a great work in a club without winning, you [Pires] have an example of your big boss, Mr Wenger, he did an incredible work at Arsenal, with you and with some s*** players like you, you had a lot, and he didn’t manage to win a European trophy. The work was still amazing, but sometimes you don’t get it.’
