Jose Mourinho and his staff gathered together in a huddle to celebrate immediately after the final whistle. The prize may only have been qualification for next season’s Europa League, but after securing a place following a hard-fought draw, the Tottenham Hotspur manager considered this to be mission accomplished.
Mourinho acknowledged a place in Europe’s secondary competition was scant consolation for players who have grown used to competing in the Champions League.
However, having taken charge in November when the club was lying in 14th position and ended the campaign in impressive form, the Portuguese is satisfied progress has been made even if the final game was one the manager admitted he would prefer to forget.
Harry Kane’s 13th-minute opening goal was cancelled out by Palace midfielder Jeff Schlupp in the 53rd minute but Wolverhampton Wanderers’s defeat at Chelsea ensured Spurs moved up to sixth place. Mourinho’s side achieved their aim, but the manager admitted sights would be set higher next time around.
“Of course players who one day plays Champions League don’t want to go back into Europa League,” said Mourinho. “But it was the only thing that was possible after a difficult season for the club, for the players. In my case, also for myself. But arriving 14th, sixth is not bad at all.
“So I am quite happy. But next season we play Europa League, it’s just a question to motivate ourselves for that competition. To try to motivate also the fans also to support us and to try and do something beautiful.”
Mourinho maintains he has seen signs during recent weeks of what his side can achieve next season. “What we can do is improve,” he said. “When all the players are available we showed in this last period where we belong.
“Maybe in this period after lockdown, maybe we finish third or fourth in the table. So that’s where we belong. So I want to have my team, my players, not a medical room full of players, I want a pitch full of players.
“Of course as a squad the main thing is to keep our very good players and then to improve the squad. Are we going to buy ten players? No. Are we going to buy players for £100 million? No. But we are going to improve.”
Kane struck his seventh goal since the season resumed, beating Vicente Guaita with a low shot after creating space inside the Palace area. The home side, though, deserved their response when Schlupp struck after a corner caused confusion in the Spurs area.
That goal avoided a club record-equalling eighth straight defeat for Palace although they registered only 31 league goals, the club’s lowest ever return. Results before lockdown mean Palace still finish 14th, but Roy Hodgson admitted his squad had been stretched this season.
“Our squad is small, it is ageing, we have been playing some of the top teams in the country and it has been hard,” said the Palace manager. “I see this period as a necessary evil that we have had to go through.
“Even if the intention and desire from the board is to spend some money and rejuvenate the team, whether it’s a possibility in the market is another matter. Unless we get help soon the job gets harder and harder. We need some players who can do what Harry Kane did for Tottenham today.”
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