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Darren Bent: 'Jose Mourinho's tactics are working'

:Headline: Darren Bent: 'Jose Mourinho's tactics are working':
Spurs are second in the Premier League.
Sports Mole

Former Tottenham striker Darren Bent says Jose Mourinho's tactics are justified by Spurs' position in the Premier League.

Mourinho has come under criticism for the way he has set up his side this season, allowing opposition teams possession and territory and hitting them on the break.

It worked against Manchester City and Arsenal and came close to landing its biggest prize yet at Liverpool on Wednesday, but Spurs were not clinical in front of goal and succumbed to a late 2-1 loss.

That sent the Reds three points clear at the top of the table, but Spurs remain in the title mix, which Bent says is all that matters.

"I have heard people talk about it being boring," he told the PA news agency.

"I have found it intriguing, they have not being having much possession, at Anfield, they only had 24 per cent possession and there are only certain teams you can get away with that against.

"Liverpool are not one of them, if you allow teams like that to dominate then at some stage you are going to come unstuck.

"But when I hear people talk about entertaining and boring football, they are sat second in the Premier League for a reason.

"Mourinho has got his tactics spot on a lot of the time. What would you rather watch, entertaining football that doesn't get you anywhere or football that maybe is reserved and tactical but you are picking up results?

"The performance against Manchester City was the perfect team performance, they had next to nothing, broke away a couple of times and got the goals. Arsenal was so easy for them, they allowed Arsenal to keep possession and they didn't hurt them.

"I like him, I have always been a big fan of Mourinho, he has been one of the very, very best, he sets his teams up right."

Dele Alli's future has been a big talking point this season, having been frozen out of the side in the opening months of the campaign.

However, it looks as if the thawing out process may be beginning, with Alli coming off the bench in the last two Premier League outings and he could be involved as Spurs travel to Stoke in next week's Carabao Cup quarter-final.

Bent is backing Alli to return to his best if he takes the limited chances he is getting.

Dele Alli has found it tough to get into Jose Mourinho's starting XI this season (Alex Livesey/PA)

"We know how good Dele Alli is, I think he can get back to the level we saw before but he needs to work hard in training, do what he needs to do and when he gets opportunities he has to take them," he added.

"Whether it is 10 minutes, 15 minutes or whatever it is, he needs to work hard, I know it is not a lot of time but he needs to be doing something in these little cameos to show Mourinho he is getting back to that level.

"If he does that, we have seen Mourinho really likes him, so if he can get back to that level it won't surprise me to see him get back in the team because you look at their midfielders, you can't tell me if they are all playing at their absolute maximum Dele Alli can't get into that midfield.

"He is more than good enough to do that."

:: Stoke v Tottenham takes place on Wednesday 23 December in the Carabao Cup sponsored by Carabao Energy Drink.

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Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool1494136191731
2Leicester CityLeicester149052617927
3Manchester UnitedMan Utd138232821726
4Everton148242519626
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs1474325141125
6Southampton147342519624
7Manchester CityMan City136521912723
8Chelsea1364326141222
9West Ham UnitedWest Ham136342116521
10Wolverhampton WanderersWolves136251317-420
11Aston Villa116142113819
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle135351722-518
13Crystal Palace145361925-618
14Leeds UnitedLeeds145272430-617
15Arsenal144281218-614
16Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton142661622-612
17Fulham142481323-1010
18Burnley12246618-1210
19West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom131481026-167
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd140212825-172
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Championship Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Norwich CityNorwich20134329181143
2Bournemouth20108235161938
3Swansea CitySwansea20106423121136
4Brentford2098331181335
5Middlesbrough1996424141033
6Stoke CityStoke209652520533
7Reading2010373026433
8Watford198742215731
9Bristol City209382021-130
10Cardiff CityCardiff208572620629
11Blackburn RoversBlackburn2084834241028
12Huddersfield TownHuddersfield208482427-328
13Barnsley208482326-328
14Luton TownLuton207671721-427
15Preston North EndPreston2082102730-326
16Millwall2051051718-125
17Birmingham CityBirmingham205781723-622
18Coventry CityCoventry205782028-822
19Queens Park RangersQPR204881927-820
20Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2045111425-1117
21Rotherham UnitedRotherham1944111827-916
22Derby CountyDerby193791022-1216
23Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds2046101121-1012
24Wycombe WanderersWycombe2026121229-1712
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