Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho says he see most Championship clubs that had previously been in the Premier League as a Premier League team because they know the culture and also have the DNA of the competition, so he regards the match against Stoke as a big match.
The former Manchester United manager will not right off the Championship side having beaten Wolves and Villa to reach the last eight of the Carabao cup, he further stated that it remains an important game and they must go be ready to get the win as it serves as an opportunity to move into the Semifinal of the competition.
Jose said: “It’s tough, of course, and when I look at the Championship clubs that had previously been in the Premier League, I look at them as Premier League teams.
“It’s the nature, the culture, the DNA. The teams are very good, they have very good players, very good coaches, so even the fact that we play Stoke or Newcastle play Brentford doesn’t give us easier matches.
“Going in the direction from what we are saying from the beginning of this season, the next match is the next match we want to win, and the next match is Stoke.
“It’s a big game for them, and a big game for us. We have to go again. It’s an important game, not because we lost the last two, but because it’s an opportunity to jump to a cup semi-final, which we shouldn’t waste.”
The Tottenham boss says he will rotate his team and also give two or three players a little bit of rest while some who deserve to play will be in the team to face Stoke City,
“A mixture, some players, they need to play and deserve to play, and from the ones who are playing more, there are others where we don’t have great options to make chances, and we will keep them, but of course we will try to give a little bit of a rest to two or three of them.”
Jose further stated when asked how important it was to get a positive result after a tough week
“It’s isolated. It has nothing to do with the match we just lost, and nothing to do with the match we have to play against Wolves next weekend. It’s a cup game, a game where we go to the semi-finals or watch them at home on TV. We have to go with a positive attitude and try to win it.”
