Spurs defender Doherty blames the players for Jose Mourinho's exit

Matt Doherty

has claimed that the Tottenham players are to blame for

Jose Mourinho

's dismissal due to a lack of consistency in outcomes. 

On April 19, just days before Spurs' appearance in the

Carabao Cup

final, Mourinho was removed from his club's managerial duties after only 18 months in charge. 

The Lilywhites finished eighth in the Premier League after losing the finale to Manchester City, with Doherty bemoaning the squad's collective inability to reach Mourinho's high standards throughout the 2020-21 season.

"He was only there for 18 months," Doherty said of the Portuguese coach while on international duty with the Republic of Ireland.

"If it was three or four years, it could be a different conversation, but we just weren't getting the results for him.

"The manager is always the one to lose his job, but as players, we were the ones on the pitch, and we weren't able to get the results for him, which was a shame because he's one of the best managers ever."

Doherty joined Tottenham from Wolves for £15 million ($21 million) last August after establishing himself as one of the most reliable defenders in the

at Molineux. 

During his first season at Spurs, the 29-year-old failed to live up to expectations, and he was in and out of the team under Mourinho, who was replaced in the dugout on an interim basis by Ryan Mason. 

On the other hand, Doherty has nothing but love for the guy who is ready to take over as Roma's permanent manager, continuing:

"I definitely got a fair crack of the whip. I still played 25, 26, 27 games - that's a lot of games in a season, so I definitely got a fair crack.

"I had a great relationship with him. He was my neighbour for the whole year, so the relationship was fine. He was a great guy, but unfortunately, these things happen in football. That was the case, but he is Jose Mourinho, he is one of the best ever and I have nothing but praise for him."

Doherty has played in 29 games for Tottenham in all tournaments but has yet to score a goal. With three years left on his contract, the former Wolves defender did record four assists last season so there's still plenty of opportunities to establish himself at the club.

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