20 Nov Schwarzer’s question mark on Mourinho’s Tottenham move

Mark Schwarzer is confident Jose Mourinho will have an immediate impact at Tottenham.

But he does have some reservations.

The Portuguese manager has taken the job at the north London club after Mauricio Pochettino was sacked following subpar results which saw Spurs drop to 14th on the Premier League table.

Former Australia goalkeeper Schwarzer is well aware that 56-year-old Mourinho is a beacon for success and suggests he change things quickly at Tottenham, however, he does have a few queries on the man who will reportedly be earning $28.5 million (£15m) per year.

“What he’ll do is bring you success. He’s almost guaranteeing you success,” Schwarzer said on SEN Breakfast.

“The question is for how long?

“His use-by date at the various clubs has always been around that three-year period but at the beginning normally the impact is quite severe.

“I think his impact will be quite sudden and I think there will be a turnaround in performance and results right at the beginning.

“You look at his career, wherever he’s been, every single club he’s managed at he’s delivered silverware.

“He did it at Manchester United in the first season, he did it at Chelsea on both occasions. Everywhere he’s been – Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Porto, the list goes on…

“The question mark is always the longevity.”

Schwarzer played under Mourinho at Chelsea so knows his management style first-hand.

“What Jose will do is go into that dressing room and pull everyone together,” he added.

“He’ll wipe the slate clean. All positions are up for grabs. If you deliver, it’s your position to keep.”

As for the decision to sack Pochettino, who guided spurs to the Champions League final only six months ago, Schwarzer was measured in his response.

“If you take into consideration the last 12 months and the performances, particularly in the league, have been way off the mark,” he said.

“The problem is, in one way, the success of the Champions League has covered over a lot of the cracks and this season the start has been a really poor one for Tottenham.

“We talk about the success of Mauricio Pochettino, how good a manager he’s become, what an unbelievable job he’s done, however, (he) failed to deliver silverware.

“That was always the big question mark over his reign.”

Mourinho’s first game in charge of Spurs comes in a London derby against West Ham this weekend while Pochettino has immediately been sensationally linked with Unai Emery’s job at Arsenal.

Listen to Schwarzer on SEN Breakfast below: