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Jose Mourinho has been speaking about the job he has on his hands at Tottenham Hotspur and has explained the process the club's summer signings are going through.

It is only the second time in his management career that the Portuguese has taken over at a club once a season has already begun.

He previously did that at Porto, eventually winning the Champions League with them, and he admitted that there are difficulties in taking over during a campaign.

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"It is the second time I get a team mid-season, it’s just the second time for me," said Mourinho. "The first time was also not easy because it was the end of a team, the end of an era.

"It was an era without titles. Porto were not winning but it was the end of - I don’t want to say of a generation but it was the end of a team in the end of a season. Twelve players out, 12 players in, start everything from the beginning. Forget the good things of the past, forget the bad things of the past and let’s build from new.

"That is my experience in Porto coming in the middle of the season, so I suppose that if you are asking about Eriksen, Eriksen, Eriksen, Eriksen do you want to compare [Christian] Eriksen’s situation four years ago then Eriksen’s situation now? It’s easy to compare. Four years ago he had four years of contract and now he has six months of contract. The situation is very, very, very difficult."

Mourinho then spoke about the last summer at Spurs and those new signings, Giovani Lo Celso, Ryan Sessegnon and Tanguy Ndombele.

The Tottenham head coach appeared to hint that he felt Lo Celso is now starting to find his rhythm in a month when the club must decide whether to make his loan move permanent for £27.2m rather than the £34m it would cost in the summer.

Mourinho also pointed towards "lots of problems" with Ndombele, who has struggled with injury issues.

"Some players left, some players come. The players that come - Giovani, Sessegnon, Ndombele - you see the young boy is in a process of developing and we are giving him time to do that," he said.

"Giovani comes from completely different football cultures. Played in Spain, Argentina, played in Spain, played in France, now he comes again. You can feel that he is coming.

"Ndombele not even coming. Injured and with lots of problems, so you cannot compare what was four years ago in the cycle of four years to what it is now. So we have to work."

(Image: TF-Images/Getty Images)

Mourinho has also had to battle against serious injuries to Harry Kane and Moussa Sissoko and he hinted that there was no guarantee that either would be back this season.

"[Hugo] Lloris was a long injury, then Harry, then Moussa, Ben Davies, everything is long. It’s not like you are waiting for somebody to come back next week or Sissoko in two weeks. It’s not in two weeks, it’s in three or four months who knows? Maybe only next season, so it’s difficult," he explained.

"Come on, it is what it is. We cannot have a squad like some other teams. It’s not us. Yesterday, I was watching Man City and I looked to the bench - Sterling, Bernado Silva, Gundogan, Otamendi. You know?

"Liverpool, you see the team, you see the bench. And they have injured Matip, Lovren, Keita, Fabinho. I’m not jealous, I have an amazing job, but they are different jobs. I am so happy, not for me, with what [Japhet] Tanganga means for the building. This is a different club."

Mourinho was asked about the fans reaction to Eriksen in recent months. The Dane's substitution on Saturday against Liverpool was met with cheers.

"I would say to the fans, first of all that we always respect their reactions, always, but I would also say that if you love Tottenham, you go to a football match and support Tottenham," he said.

"That's the only thing I can say. But again I repeat, we always respect their reaction."

On whether that sort of reaction affects players, he added: "Not every player is the same. Some players become better with bad reactions from their own fans, they feel that as a factor of motivation.

"With some others, of course, it affects them. I have to go in the direction that I coach my team and I have to try to do the best for the team, that's the only thing I can say."

Under Mauricio Pochettino it was often said that there had never been a closer bond between the players and the fans. It was put to Mourinho that something had been lost from that four or five year period under the Argentine.

"You think it was just for four or five years?" he responded. "I've played against Tottenham since 2004 and I always felt a big connection between the team and the fans.

"It's different moments, different phases and in some cases also some different players. It is what it is."