‘Empty trophy room’ – Jose Mourinho aims another dig at Tottenham as pre-Carabao Cup final sacking still annoys outspoken Portuguese coach

The outspoken Portuguese coach was relieved of his duties in north London after just 17 months at the helm, and with a major final outing at Wembley a matter of days away. Spurs went on to lose that game against Manchester City with Ryan Mason in temporary charge – meaning that a long wait for major silverware that stretches all the way back to 2008 was extended.

Mourinho is still baffled as to why he was let go, given his track record of delivering trophies, and has told the Obi One Podcast: “The most ridiculous one was a club that has an empty trophy room sacks me two days before a final. That was the one that was... come on! Tottenham have never won for 50 years. I don’t remember when. I am two days before a final and I couldn’t do the final. It’s the one which doesn’t smell well.”

He added: “I had a plan but sometimes it doesn’t work. But the reality is every time I went to Wembley with Chelsea I won. I went there with Man United three times, I won twice. So the record was good. It was a stadium and atmosphere which I dominate well, because when you go into these big matches you need to feel comfortable, you cannot go to these matches and feel the stadium is too big. I had the experience to try and help the team but the final was against Man City so I would be an idiot right now to say we would have won. But a few weeks before that, we won against them 2-0 at our stadium, so the feeling was positive. But it is what it is.”

Mourinho has won major honours with Porto, Chelsea, Inter, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Roma – including three Premier League titles and two Champions League crowns. His stint at Tottenham is the shortest of his managerial career since bursting onto the scene at Porto.

Mourinho lasted just 86 games at Tottenham. He won 44 of those, suffering 23 defeats, and has admitted to the Premier League outfit being the only side that he has worked for that he boasts no emotional attachment to.