Jose Mourinho says he is proud of his former Chelsea captain John Terry for choosing to prove himself as a coach before going into management.

Aston Villa assistant Terry will meet his former mentor in the dugout when Mourinho’s Tottenham visit Villa Park in the League on Sunday.

Terry, 39, joined Villa’s management team as Dean Smith’s No 2 last summer but Mourinho believes the five-time Premier League champion could have taken the easy route by walking into a top job elsewhere.

“Some [former] players, unlike in the past when you needed to prove yourself to get a job, in this moment you get a job without proving anything,” Mourinho told Sky Sports.

“So he could have chosen that way. Waiting for a big call. But he didn’t choose that way. He went the difficult way but probably the more stable way, being an assistant. Going to the Championship [then] coming to the Premier League.

“Taking time to reach what he wants to reach. It will arrive. So I am proud of the way he is doing things. We keep in touch when it’s possible, when we have time and when big moments arrive.”

The Spurs manager was speaking in Germany, where he spent Sunday night at Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena watching his side’s Champions League last-16 opponents RB Leipzig secure a 0-0 draw. “It’s very important, I can see small details, even the warm-ups,” Mourinho said.

“I can see what TV and video don’t give me. To see the warm-ups and to see what the players do individually.”

In a newspaper column at the weekend, Arsenal legend Paul Merson claimed Mourinho was already regretting taking the Spurs job but the Portuguese hit back, insisting he is happy in north London.

“Contrary to some people who want to be in the news and tell things that are not true, I am really happy at the club,” said Mourinho, who was back at the training ground today to begin a week of tactical training during Spurs’ shortened winter-break.

“I am really happy,” said Mourinho, who was appointed Spurs boss at the end of November. “Difficult? Yes, but if it was not difficult it wouldn’t be for me.

“I like the players and who they are. I like very much the relationship I have with them, so I’m really happy If you see a bad face from me it is because of a bad result. I cannot change myself and after a bad result it’s difficult for me to smile. That’s just me.

“The reality is I am happy and I look forward to what is coming, but even more for next season. I want to start working with them in July. I want a pre-season, friendly matches and to have an evolution of the team we can’t do now.”

Spurs have lost once in their last eight matches — against Liverpool — and Mourinho believes his side are beginning to show the desired steel.

“We are showing a certain mentality. This season has been hard for them. Even before I arrived,” he said.

“They lost Hugo Lloris for a long period. Then progressively you lose another player. Then another. Then another. But the way the team has fought has made me even prouder of them.”