Jose Mourinho concedes Dele Alli is ‘not a happy player’ after being left as unused sub for Tottenham

The attacking midfielder has played fewer than 350 minutes this season

(Getty Images)

Jose Mourinho acknowledged Dele Alli is not in the best frame of mind at present, after the attacking midfielder was again overlooked for Tottenham Hotspur’s win over Antwerp.

The 24-year-old was initially one of the players who was given a chance and had a quick impact after Mourinho’s appointment last year, but he quickly lost his place in the side.

Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso have been preferred ahead of him this season and Dele was left frustrated on Thursday evening when he failed to even appear as substitute in the Europa League.

READ MORE: Date, time, teams and how to watch the Europa League draw

After Spurs made their fifth sub against Antwerp, Dele left the bench briefly to head down the tunnel, before returning afterwards - but Mourinho was not overly concerned by his reaction.

"Let's not run away from reality," the manager said after the game.

"A player on the bench who realises all five subs have been used of course is not a happy player and I would not expect him to be happy."

Harry Winks was also thought to have disappeared down the tunnel in poor spirits after being subbed off around the hour mark, but Mourinho cleared up any confusion by insisting he had told all players to head to the changing room if they prefered.

"I told [Winks] to go, I told every player that left the pitch to go because when the weather is cold I prefer they go to the dressing room and have a shower.

"I told them to go, some prefer to stay. Winks decided to go and I am happy with that because I am the one that told him to do it."

Spurs’ 2-0 win over Antwerp secured them top spot in the group, with four wins from their six games.

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