Jose Mourinho showed the key difference between him and Pochettino on Tuesday - opinion

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Jose Mourinho brought his own brand of ruthlessness to north London on Tuesday night.

As Tottenham Hotspur fell 2-0 behind to Olympiacos in a Champions League game that they needed to win to secure qualification to the knockout stages, there was a familiar air of disappointment.

Under Mauricio Pochettino, Spurs had been too passive this season, too willing to let bad performances slide and too tactically inflexible to fix it.

But on Tuesday evening, Mourinho pulled an old trick out of the bag. He made a first-half substitution.

This is not the first time the Portuguese has done this. He replaced Eric Bailly with Juan Mata in the first-half when Manchester United manager against Newcastle United and the Spaniard had a decisive impact, scoring for his side. He did similar for Chelsea, taking off both Shaun Wright-Phillips and Joe Cole after less than 30 minutes against Fulham, sending on Didier Drogba and Damien Duff.

It worked. Eriksen was in superb, game-changing form and provided a gorgeous assist for Harry Kane in the second half, floating in a perfectly-weighted free-kick from the left flank; the England international simply nodded the ball in. Another free-kick, this time from a more central position, whistled just past the post, with the Dane in the mood.

Mourinho took the time to apologise to Dier after the game, insisting that the change had nothing to do with his performance and everything to do with his desire to make a tactical switch.

Of course, it paid off, but this speaks to a wider issue that Mourinho is attempting to address.

This was a message that mediocrity will not be tolerated and that there is now a win-at-all-costs mantra being installed at Hotspur Way and beyond.

Spurs have fought back under Pochettino before, of course they have, but it all too regularly came down to individual brilliance; think Lucas Moura in Amsterdam or Kane against West Ham.

On Tuesday, Mourinho rolled the dice and came up with two sixes, while also sending a stark warning to his players: this is his team now and he has no room for any passengers.

Meanwhile, Christian Eriksen’s future may have been decided. 

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