'Second to nobody': Mourinho defends coaching methods after Spurs defeat

José Mourinho insisted his coaching methods are still the best in the world after Tottenham’s dismal form continued with a 2-1 defeat against West Ham.

Spurs are languishing in ninth place after winning three of their past 13 games in the league and find themselves nine points below West Ham, who climbed to fourth with goals from Michail Antonio and Jesse Lingard.

David Moyes’s side held on for a crucial win in the race to qualify for the Champions League despite Lucas Moura setting up a frantic finish with a fine header.

The defeat means Mourinho has taken 81 points from his first 50 games in charge of Spurs, his lowest total at any stage of his managerial career. But while he admitted it will be hard for his side to finish in the top four, he insisted he is not past his best after being asked if he is questioning his methods.

“Not at all,” he said. “Zero. Sometimes

the result are a consequence of multi situations in football. Mine and my coaching staff’s methods are second to nobody in the world.”

Mourinho said Spurs are not in a crisis but he accepted their form is not good enough. “I don’t know what you mean by crisis. If crisis is frustration and sadness in the dressing room, I would say so because nobody is happy. When a team fights the way the team did until the last second, it is never a group crisis. Groups are in crisis when you are not together in search of better results. I wouldn’t say crisis. I’d say a really bad run of results. We are losing too many matches.”

Mourinho suggested Tottenham could qualify for the Champions League by winning the Europa League. West Ham, though, exposed their deficiencies in defence and attack with a spirited display that underlined their improvement under Moyes.

“We’re trying to stay away from ‘oh Chelsea didn’t win, someone else didn’t win’,” Moyes said. “I think we’re still improving. We’re trying to find our best form. What West Ham couldn’t do was find consistency. I’d like to get a consistent level of performance. We’re trying not to get ahead of our station at this time.”

Moyes was unfussed about his first win against Mourinho. “I was obviously aware of it because of how often the media mention it,” he said. “The most important thing was beating Tottenham.”