Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho has appeared to hit back at Paul Merson, following the Sky Sports pundit criticism of Harry Kane.
Merson said Kane would consider reversing clubs if Mourinho continued adopting a conservative style in the Premier League, like they did in their 1-1 draw with United on Saturday.
“I feel a bit strange about some analysis and some comments, especially, you know, because it looks for me that the beginning of some comments and analysis, they started from Paul [Merson],” Mourinho said.
“I have to say I respect a lot people like him and because I respect a lot, I want to be nice in my answer. I don’t think he is ready for a bad answer. So I try to be nice. And I try just to say something where people can think a little bit.
“First of all, Harry played his first game for six months and if you watch and analyse the game, compare Harry Kane with [United striker] Atnhony Martial. It wasn’t a game of many chances, where the two strikers had a lot of chances.
“Do you give credit to my defence for Martial’s game, do you give credit to United’s defence to the occasions that we didn’t create? You have to look at it in a balanced approach.” Mourinho added.
Kane has scored 7 goals in 10 games under Portuguese manager but he struggled to make impact against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side since returning from injury.
“In our case, Harry doesn’t play a game for six months. The record of goals that Harry has with me is easy for you, you just go to your data and it is easy to see how many matches Harry played with me and how many goals he scored.” Mourinho said.
