Jose Mourinho's speech to Dele Alli has become hugely poignant after latest Besiktas nightmare
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Jose Mourinho warned Dele Alli about 'demanding more from himself' whilst the pair were at Tottenham Hotspur - it feels all the more relevant after his latest nightmare at Besiktas.
When Mourinho first took over Spurs in 2019, it seemed that he'd either get the best out of Dele or things could unravel quite quickly.
The midfielder had been a fulcrum under Mauricio Pochettino, especially when things were going well, but had dipped a little and they would eventually only get worse under the Argentine's replacement.
Spurs' transition from one manager to the next was all helpfully captured on film by Amazon Prime Video, for its All or Nothing series with the Premier League side. Check out Mourinho's chat with Alli below.
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We got to really see what happened between the two, with the former Chelsea boss giving the England international what should have been an inspirational talking to.
"I am 56 now and yesterday I was 20. Time flies. One day I think you will regret it if you don't reach what you can reach," the manager said.
"I am not expecting you to be the man of the match every game. I am not expecting you to score goals every game. I want just to tell you that you will regret it.
"You should demand more from yourself. It should not be me demanding more from you. Nobody else. You. You should demand more from yourself."
In another moment in the series, Mourinho claimed that the former MK Dons player was 'f***ing lazy' when talking in a team meeting, and it feels like what the Portuguese manager was saying may never have got through.
Dele's fall from grace saw him eventually leave north London in January, when he was allowed to move to Everton on a free transfer.
Whilst Frank Lampard's side did eventually avoid relegation, with the midfielder even starring in the turnaround win against Crystal Palace, his impact was limited outside of that game.
Having missed an absolute sitter in an embarrassing loss for the Toffees in pre season, the 26-year-old was allowed to join Turkish Super Lig outfit Besiktas on loan.
At the beginning of November, Besiktas manager Senol Gunes admitted the midfielder was performing 'below expectations' after a solid start to life in Turkey.
Things turned ugly on Wednesday, with Dele substituted in the 28th minute of a Turkish Cup clash against third-tier Sanliurfaspor.
Besiktas were 2-0 down inside 15 minutes and booed the two-time PFA Player of the Year as he walked off the pitch.
Featured Image Credit: Amazon Prime Video
Topics: Dele Alli, Tottenham Hotspur, Besiktas, Everton
