Jose Mourinho Tottenham 2019-20Getty Images

'Things look different for us now' - Vertonghen hails Mourinho impact as Tottenham target top four

Jan Vertonghen feels Tottenham are turning their season around under Jose Mourinho.

Spurs have won five of the seven games they have played since the Portuguese coach replaced Mauricio Pochettino at the helm in late November.

The London outfit were 14th in the table when Pochettino was sacked 12 games into the campaign, but the 2-1 win at Wolves on Sunday saw them climb to fifth place.

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Now just three points behind next week's opponents Chelsea, who occupy the last Champions League qualification spot, Spurs are contenders for a top four finish and Vertonghen is happy they are on track again.

"When [Mourinho] came in he was very clear that he wanted to be in the top four," the defender said after their latest win. 

"We were 11 points off when he came in, now we are three away. Things are looking different for us now, we are in the next round of the Champions League too."

Vertonghen sealed the three points for Mourinho's men when he headed past Wolves goalkeeper Rui Patricio in added time, restoring his side's lead after Lucas Moura's early opener was cancelled out by Adama Traore in the second half.

And the Belgium international admits his side had to put up a good fight against Nuno's team.

Jan Vertonghen Tottenham 2019-20

"It was a very difficult game," he added.

"We know how good Wolves are. People talk about the top six but they're very close. They show it in the league every week. They're a very good side.

"It was very difficult playing against one of the quickest guys in the league [Adama Traore]."

Mourinho says he expected a tough game for his side, but was delighted with his team's effort to seal "three incredible points".

"We knew the game was going to be difficult," he told BBC Sport . "They didn’t catch us by surprise. We had a very good start like we tried to.

"We almost scored a second goal but against Wolves that would not have killed the game. They are very strong. They use the sides, then the centre, very difficult in transition. Adama Traore and Diogo Jota are incredibly fast and difficult to stop.

"We coped with their spirit. At 1-1 they tried, Wolves are not a team satisfied with a point. We knew if we arrive in the last part we knew we could score. After that we had to close the door for the last five mins, three incredible points."

Tottenham are at home to Chelsea in the league next week and take on Brighton on Boxing Day four days later.

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