Serge Aurier has opened up on some of the problems he endured at Tottenham prior to his exit.
The Ivorian saw his contract terminated a year early after Spurs failed to find a buyer over the course of the summer window, following the signing of Emerson Royal.
A divisive figure during his four years in north London, Aurier then linked up with former Arsenal manager Unai Emery at Villarreal and could play against Liverpool in Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final at Anfield.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, the 29-year-old talked of the issues Jose Mourinho and assistant Joao Sacramento had in developing a connection with the Spurs dressing room.
“Football is different compared to 10 years ago,” he said.
“He [Mourinho] is still a great coach, but there are things that have evolved. Sometimes players need more love and attention. I’m not speaking for José, I’m speaking for his assistant. Joao is a tough guy and he didn’t have a good relationship with the dressing room, that’s why everything deteriorated. There was a lack of good communication.
“It was one of his first experiences in a first team and he lacked calm with the players.
“He needed to be more concerned about the person behind the player. Sometimes when you don’t play a lot of s*** goes through your head, and you need someone to calm you down and help you, to give you good vibes, not to send you negative messages. And I think it all started there.”
Mourinho was sacked in April 2021, alongside the rest of his coaching staff and was replaced by the inexperienced Ryan Mason only days before the Carabao Cup final loss against Manchester City.
Sacramento, 30 when he arrived at Spurs, had previously worked alongside Marcelo Bielsa and Christope Galtier at Lille after rising through the ranks while on Claudio Ranieri’s staff at AS Monaco, meeting Mourinho while he was a student at the University of South Wales.
