Rio Ferdinand criticises Jose Mourinho for failing to boost confidence levels among underperforming Tottenham squad

No wins since mid-February for Mourinho’s team

Jose Mourinho has been criticised by former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand for not building up the confidence of his players, as Tottenham Hotspur struggle for results and consistency.

Spurs were knocked out of the Champions League on Tuesday in a timid display against German outfit Leipzig, losing by three on the night and 4-0 on aggregate.

Matters in the Premier League haven’t been much better, with Spurs winless in three and dropping to eighth in the table, seven points outside the top four.

Ferdinand, speaking on BT Sport after the fixture in Leipzig, said Mourinho’s press conferences and interviews were those of a manager who didn’t fully believe in his players – and that would transmit to the squad, leading to self-fulfilling, below-par performances.

“You’ve got to build them up and give them confidence,” Ferdinand said.

“Talking about ‘going to a gun fight without bullets’ – what does that do to the confidence of the likes of Dele [Alli], Lucas Moura?

“That [confidence-building] hasn’t been forthcoming from Jose. You see a hint of that in the performance tonight [against Leipzig].”

In mitigation against the poor results, Mourinho has consistently pointed to injury absences throughout his team, particularly in attack.

Ferdinand accepts that the lack of key names has an impact on performance level, but says it shouldn’t affect work rate, determination and the will to win.

“He has got injuries, big injuries to big players, but sometimes there’s an element of desire you want to see from all your players but that was lacking.

Tottenham’s manager Jose Mourinho (right) comforts Lucas Moura (AP)

“You want to see something that seems mapped out and planned. There seemed no identity with that team. There was no intensity or desire from that team. Those are the questions you ask yourself.

“That’s the duty of a manager. When the times are hard and they’re difficult, it’s down to the manager to pick them up.

“Players watch press conferences, but, more importantly at the training ground, that’s where you pick them up. It doesn’t look like he’s done that.”

Spurs return to action at the weekend against Manchester United, in what may be the north London side’s last chance to put real pressure on their rivals for a Champions League spot.

Defeat would leave them trailing Mourinho’s former side by seven points with eight games to play, with Chelsea, Wolves, Sheffield United and potentially Arsenal all between Tottenham and fourth place, too.