I had concerns when Jose Mourinho joined Spurs... he has done little to convince me I was wrong

When Jose Mourinho was appointed Tottenham manager, I was unashamedly pessimistic. Maybe my natural defeatism comes with the territory of being a lifelong Spurs fan. Or maybe I was just right to feel that way.

I worried that Jose, undeniably a success in three of his first major managerial posts, at Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan - who he left a decade ago - was out of touch with the modern game. His triumphs became more sporadic in his later posts, the football at Manchester United was less convincing than anywhere else he has gone while everywhere, without exception, things eventually turned toxic.

I was told by more positive fans that a manager with Mourinho's winning record was just what Spurs needed. He could be the final piece in the puzzle and provide that elusive first trophy of this new era.

But two months into his Tottenham reign and it is looking worryingly as though my preconceptions were warranted. It is early days, but Mourinho has done little to prove he is the man to transform Spurs into a winning machine.

Public complaints

An underrated aspect of Mauricio Pochettino's time at the club was the quite brilliant job he did in protecting both his players and his boss. That hasn't been the case with Mourinho.

He has already complained on multiple occasions about Tanguy Ndombele's fitness problems and the lack of depth in his squad, in particular up front since Harry Kane did his hamstring. Pochettino never did anything of the sort.

Not only is speaking publicly like that going to undermine the players he does have, it is also a surefire way to strain his relationship with Daniel Levy. While any ill feeling between those two might not directly affect performances on the pitch, problems this early on in his reign might just point at the direction they are headed with Mourinho: towards the most predictable of implosions.

Tactics

We have always been told Mourinho is the most pragmatic of pragmatists with an extraordinary and almost excessive obsession on the opposition, but that hasn't really appeared the case so far in his time at Tottenham.

There hasn't been a great deal of variety to the way Spurs have played, while Mourinho has seemed overreliant on the tactic he started with - a defensive left-back tucking in to form a back three, while right-back Serge Aurier almost plays like a winger to form a front five in attack - even when it clearly hasn't been working and with key players absent.

The loss of Kane to a serious injury naturally makes the Spurs attack less dangerous, but the difference without him under Mourinho has been much more stark than it ever was when Pochettino was manager.

If Mourinho really is still the master tactician and pragmatist we were told he is, then he would surely be able to find a way of getting a team with very able attackers in Son Heung-min, Dele Alli, Lucas Moura, Christian Eriksen, Erik Lamela and Giovani Lo Celso all available to score just a single goal, right? But Spurs look more blunt than ever at present, having gone three league games without scoring for the first time since 2013. They never did that under Pochettino.

Meanwhile, reports surfaced on Wednesday morning that there is discontent in the squad that Mourinho's training sessions have too great a focus on long balls, knock-downs and throw-ins. Those same reports express concern among the players that Mourinho's tactics are outdated. The way Tottenham are playing right now, it is easy to believe those reports.

It is a long while since Mourinho felt truly relevant to modern football and even the presence of an exciting, young assistant in 30-year-old Joao Sacremento doesn't seem to have brought him up to speed. A pragmatist should be able to adapt to football's evolution. Instead Spurs are playing long ball football that sometimes feels like it belongs in a different century.

Inability to fix the defence

Tottenham have had problems at the back for a long time. Gone are the days of Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen marshalling the top flight's meanest defence. Now, a clean sheet at Watford genuinely feels like a real surprise.

Mourinho was supposed to be the man to fix the defence. If there was one thing for which he could be relied upon, it was supposed to be his ability to plug gaps at the back, but that simply hasn't been the case. There has been no defensive masterclass of any sort. The draw at Watford was only the second time in 15 games under Mourinho that Spurs have kept a clean sheet.

Centre-back is one position in which Spurs are well stocked, so it doesn't feel like building a defence capable of stopping Championship side Middlesbrough scoring - on two occasions - is too much to ask. The truth is, however, that Spurs have looked shakier than ever.

Confusion in central midfield

The warning signs were there when Mourinho brought Eric Dier straight back into the team.

As we all know, Mourinho wanted to sign Dier when he was United manager. Dier was, back then, among the best defensive midfielders in England. Fair enough.

But Dier ended up losing his place in the Tottenham team and has never really looked the same since. On the occasions he played towards the end of Pochettino's reign, he appeared leggy and off the pace of Premier League football. The game has sped up in the last few years and Dier simply has not.

He has lost confidence and just does not look like a top quality central midfielder any more. It took Mourinho until mid-December to realise when it had looked painfully obvious to everyone else for weeks previously.

He has chopped and changed his central midfield pairing constantly, clearly unsure of his best combination. Confusion has reigned.

Mourinho complained that Moussa Sissoko cannot play as a No 6 before playing him in exactly that position. He played Ndombele in a defensive role that doesn't get the best of him, before alienating him with complaints about his injuries. If, as there always seems to be with Mourinho, there has to be a player that becomes his team's fall guy, the last person Tottenham need it to be is their best central midfielder.

Insistence that Spurs need a striker

Everybody agrees Spurs need a back up striker. They have done for ages. The reliance on Kane isn't sustainable.

But Mourinho has made it seem like it is completely impossible to attack coherently without Kane. What happened then, may I ask, when Spurs coped without their talisman in the last few seasons when Kane would get his traditional ankle injury?

A pragmatist like Mourinho should still be able to get a team like Tottenham firing and not just complain about a lack of a "target man".

There would be nothing more pleasing than to be proved completely wrong about Mourinho. Even if it all ends in tears, if there is just one major trophy along the way it will all be worth it. He is certainly worth persisting with and should be given a significant amount of time at Tottenham given the vast investment in him, but things do need to improve soon enough. The early signs for this pessimist are far from the best.