Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho says Fulham have little reason to complain about their Premier League game being rearranged at such short notice.
Spurs were due to play Aston Villa on Wednesday, but a coronavirus outbreak at the Midlands club saw the game postponed on Monday.
The Premier League then acted quickly to shoehorn Spurs’ match with the Cottagers into the vacant slot after the original fixture was postponed at less than three hours’ notice on December 30 due to Covid-19.
Fulham manager Scott Parker called the decision “scandalous”, with their game against Chelsea scheduled for Friday night also put back 24 hours.
Scott 👔💬— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) January 12, 2021
But Mourinho offered little sympathy given the short notice of the original game’s postponement.
Asked whether Fulham had a right to be upset, Mourinho replied: “Are you serious? They had 48 hours to prepare for this game. You think so? I had the news I was not going to play them two hours before the game started.”
If the game with Fulham had not been rearranged to Wednesday, Spurs would have been struggling to find room for it in a fixture list which is heavily congested anyway as Mourinho’s men challenge on four fronts.
Mourinho called the solution a “positive” one.
“The biggest impact is to have matches postponed. That is the biggest impact,” the Portuguese added.
“The changing of the order of the matches, the impact is minimal I would say. In the end you have to play 19 matches at home and 19 away, and two matches against every team.
“So if it’s to help the Premier League to go and to end properly, it’s a solution we all have to accept as a positive solution.”
Midfielder Harry Winks will play against the Cottagers, having been linked with a move to Valencia this week.
Mourinho is steadfast in his belief that the England midfielder will not be leaving the club and told other sides to stop wasting their time.
“What do I have to say to stop with this talk? I said already, he’s going nowhere. He’s going nowhere,” he said.
“So when I say he’s going nowhere, what more do you want me to say?
“He’s played the last matches. He didn’t play the last one, it was a decision to let play other players like Gedson (Fernandes) and players that are not basically playing many minutes.
“Tomorrow he’s selected again, and if somebody is speaking with other clubs, my advice is don’t lose (waste) your time, don’t lose your time because he’s going nowhere.”
Mourinho also swatted away suggestions that Spurs are interested in signing Stuttgart striker Nicolas Gonzalez, denying there had been discussions.
“Discussions with who? Not with me,” Mourinho said.
Spurs will be without Giovani Lo Celso for the match against Fulham, while Mourinho will make a decision on his compatriot Erik Lamela, who has been absent since being pictured breaking coronavirus rules over the festive period.
“He is available but I don’t know, but I think you understand what I want to mean,” Mourinho said. “He can be selected for tomorrow, he can. Legally he can but I still have a decision to make.”
