EX TOTTENHAM striker Dimitar Berbatov has warned his former club that new boss Jose Mourinho will “take no s***” – but will win the club trophies.
The Bulgarian was on the scoresheet the last time Spurs won silverware, as his strike sent them on the way to victory in the 2008 League Cup final.
But the 38-year-old has backed The Special One to be the man to end the trophy drought at White Hart Lane.
He told Betfair: “This new appointment, like every time a new manager comes in, will bring new life to the team, it will shake things up and people will wake up a bit and start proving themselves.
“The Spurs players should be excited because they are going to play for one of the best managers in the world and it is a great opportunity for them.
“Mourinho has had a good rest, he was watching teams playing, commentating, he will have drawn lessons and conclusions from his last job at Man United and now it’s a fresh start for him.
“He’s taking over a great team with great players and he’s in London, the city that he loves, so for me, I think it’s the perfect match. Spurs is a team that wants to grow, develop and achieve things and I think it’s a good place for him.
“By appointing him, the board were probably thinking ‘wherever he goes he brings trophies’ and Spurs need a trophy, we talk about it all the time.
“He has the experience and he can bring them a trophy to feel that victory, and develop that winning mentality and get used to it.
“He’s won so much already in his career and it will be interesting to see if he has mellowed.
“I remember Sir Alex Ferguson telling us about how he mellowed later in his career and took more time to think about things and not reacting so impulsively, so it will be interesting to see if Mourinho does something similar at Spurs.”
Berbatov was also keen to point out if they are to be successful, the players will have to buy into Mourinho’s ideas.
“With his resume and the amount of trophies he has won in the Champions League, Premier League and wherever he goes, he as earned the right to take no s***, if you show him respect he will give you respect back, and he deserves that because he has proven himself by winning so much.
“The players will want to show him how they can play and they will be thinking that they need to prove themselves to him.
“He will bring new ideas, a new way of playing, new exercises in training and the players will need to show themselves, all of them.
“In every club you have that player hierarchy, you know that you are good, maybe you are the captain of the team and you know you are going to play, but at the same time that doesn’t give you the right to just lay back and play off your name, you need to work hard and this will be the case with Mourinho.”
The former Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester United manager will get his reign underway with a London derby on Saturday against West Ham at the London Stadium.
The match provides the perfect opportunity for Mourinho to get off to the perfect start.
Not only could he deliver Tottenham a derby victory against the beleaguered Hammers, but also a first away victory in the league since January.
