When you were here you preferred to play Marcus Rashford wide, did today show why you felt that?
You are right, I am not here any more, you have to ask these questions to Ole, but I think he probably thinks the same, but that is not important now for me.
What did you think of your team's performance?
For 30 minutes they not just better than us, they were much better than us. They were better in intensity, in aggression, they were winning first balls, second balls, 50/50 duels, but we were lucky. Then in the last 15 minutes of the first half we were us and United were in trouble. We scored a goal and I thought in the second half with some adjustments we did at half-time, I thought we were going to win it. But the second goal is not easy to process. Probably everybody says it was a penalty.
I prefer to say it was a throw-in, because the penalty was later. It is a throw-in in the first minute in the second half and that for me is really hard. You go from the 1-1 and you want to go there for the three points and you arrive in the second half and they play the game that they want to play. They dropped the block, they defend, they got fouls, a couple of dangerous counter-attacks, closing, closing, closing. Then we had the ball in the last third, the goal could happen, but didn't. I think they deserved to win.
You put out an attacking set-up for your team tonight?
That is the way we normally play, we didn't lose because of an attacking set-up, we lost because the way we came to the game in the emotional way. Thy had more emotion than us. You see the McTominay performance, the physicality of his performance, he was dominant. It was dominant.
We finished the first half with a good feeling, with the feeling of a positive result, the feeling we were playing better than them, we had much more control in the last 10 or 15 minutes. In the second half where we thought we were going for it, we made that mistake and then it is a different game. After that one injury here, one injury there, they (Man Utd) did well, the referee allowed them to do it, but they did it well, that control of the game.
There is no problem, what's the problem. I have nothing against him, I think he has nothing against me, that is just that, why should we have any problem.
Gareth Bale says Mourinho can make Tottenham win again, what did you make of that?
It is nice, I thank him. I didn't know. If Gareth said that I would like to thank him.
Would you like him at Tottenham?
Come on, I don't need to answer.
Dele Alli, can you talk us through his goal from your perspective?
He’s playing well, what can I say, he played well before me, it’s not like I’m teaching him how to play football. He was fantastic when he arrived from MK Dons, he was fantastic for club and the national team. He had a difficult period, don't ask me why because for the majority I don't know and what I do know I won't share with you. I’ve just tried to play him in a position that suits him and also to give him more space for his creativity and intelligence. He is playing well, he is working well, he is scoring goals. I can’t ask for more from him.
Did United play well because their old manager was here or for their new manager?
I think it's just the way it is. You look today at the results against the best teams and they had good results. I think at home when they play like they did against Chelsea, Liverpool, Leicester, a great team this season, they always had this type of attitude.
I think for the way they play it's easier for them. They're not afraid to be with a defensive approach. They are not afraid to be at home, take their time and be in control of the emotions of the game.
Then lots of young people with good energy, with a good mentality. When they are winning matches they are comfortable in this situation, low block with a giant there dominating, or almost dominating in the air, fast counter attacking with Marcus, James, Jesse and Martial when he plays. So I think the way they play, it's easier for them to play against the teams, better teams who want more of the ball and want to have the initiative of the game. I think they did well.
That lack of intensity in the players was a criticism of them towards the end of the Pochettino era, how do you fix that?
Working, which I'm not doing a lot of that work. You cannot work on intensity when you are permanently playing matchers every two to three days. You can work on other things, you can work on principles of play, you work on tactical positioning, but intensity, aggression is something you cannot work on.
How can I work on these items of the game when I have to play Saturday again. I just can't do it. So it's has to be in time and try to influence the profile of the players and their concentration levels too, because today the throw-in is a total lack of concentration too. The team only reacted after Rashford had the ball and after he started facing the first defending. That was when we started reacting and before that is why we were not there.
We need to work on concentration levels but the players are fantastic. Very good players, very good professionals. They want and they will.
Dele Alli has just described the team's approach as arrogant and over-confident, is that something you saw coming into the game?
I didn't, to be honest I tried to fight that exact state of mind. I tried, I tried to tell them exactly the way United approach these matches they had at home, against Liverpool and Chelsea, always strong starts with people running and pressing the ball, with people trying to lift the morale of the supporters. Normally they come from bad results against smaller teams so when they face the big teams, people think 'this is going to be more difficult for them'.
It's not more difficult for them, because then the responsibilities change and I think they feel more comfortable in this style of play. So in the second half we knew what we were going to do, with the score 1-1, then you conceded a goal after one minute. So we have to blame ourselves. United must obviously be happy with the points and overall they deserve it.
