Eric Dier has branded suggestions Jose Mourinho has lost the Tottenham dressing room as “crazy”.
Spurs could slip into the bottom half of the table with defeat against Everton on Monday night, and must significantly improve on their last outing – a disappointing 3-1 loss away at Sheffield Utd.
Mourinho has only been in charge since November, but already his provocative nature is showing possible signs of displeasure within Spurs’ ranks.
His relationship with Tanguy Ndombele is a particular cause for concern, but Dier insists there is no truth to the rumours.
“That’s just the world we live in nowadays,” Dier told beIN Sports. “I think it’s kind of crazy. We’ve been together a very short period of time. We’ve gone through circumstances which no one could foresee.
“The change of manager half way through the season, followed by many, many injuries and then the coronavirus pandemic.
“There have been many obstacles to overcome and we hope that those things will bring us closer together.
“Those kind of comments are just ridiculous really.”
Dier may have extra reason to stay in Mourinho’s good books, considering he is enjoying a mini resurgence under the Portuguese coach.
Having played largely as a midfielder under Pochettino, Dier has been used more frequently in Spurs’ defence in recent months.
He is now in line for fresh contract talks at Tottenham, with Mourinho a keen admirer of his talents.
And Dier seems equally as taken with his new boss.
“He’s a huge character, one of the most successful managers ever. It’s a great pleasure to be playing under him,” the 26-year-old said.
“When I look back I’ll remember how lucky I was to play to play first under Pochettino and then Mourinho. It’s a very privileged position to work under those two managers.
“Mourinho is someone, for me personally, who knows how to light the fire inside you. I want to win for him. I want to do everything to succeed to try and win with him and he builds that within you.”
He added: “He’s extremely motivated, extremely passionate about the game, about winning. His energy is very high every day around the training ground, on the training pitch he’s always pushing. I’m really enjoying working under him.”
