Tottenham Hotspur were 14th in the table, Dele Alli had been unrecognisable and Moussa Sissoko had not scored a Premier League goal for more than two years when Jose Mourinho landed in north London.

Fast forward 10 days and Mourinho’s Spurs had moved up to fifth, Alli had made it three goals in two games and Sissoko had broken his duck with a spectacular volley. The self-proclaimed Special One has certainly made a special impact.​

And, make no mistake, Mourinho fancies chasing down his old club Chelsea, who Tottenham now trail by six points after Frank Lampard’s team suffered a second successive defeat, for a top-four place.​

Tottenham entertain Chelsea on December 22 and Mourinho said: “When I arrived, we were 12 points behind the Champions League position. I didn’t want to think about it because we would get depressed.​

“But we want to play European football next season. We are going into a period with a lot of matches, you have match, match, match so you have the chance to put pressure on your opponent.​