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Crouch: I wish I was Spurs player now with Mourinho

Former Spurs striker Peter Crouch says the club's stars should revel in playing under Jose Mourinho.

The Portuguese was brought in as the replacement for Mauricio Pochettino on Wednesday.

Crouch said: "Harry's not the only one who has seen the ruthless side of Daniel Levy.

"As soon as I got to 30, I was out and that is something he is going to have to change.

"Pochettino wanted to bring in young players and he wanted to build a team.

"Mourinho, traditionally, hasn't done that. He will bring in 30-year-old ready-made players to win straight away.

"That's why he has been hired to get Tottenham into the top four this season. If he was thinking long-term, he would have maybe brought in Eddie Howe.

"Around 2006, 07, 08 I was playing for England and we would share stories.

"I was sitting with Joe Cole one day and John Terry and we asked them, what's Mourinho like and they just couldn't speak highly enough of him.

Cole said he went and knocked on his door because he hadn't been playing and went in there all guns blazing to have it out with him. He said I'm going to need you in three weeks' time.

"Joe Cole said he needs me for that game, I'll be ready for that game. He came out, baring in mind he would be dropped for the next three games, walking on air. He said it was the best.

"He said he needed me for that particular game, bizarrely he had planned that far ahead and he did play in that game.

"At the end of his time at Chelsea the second time and at Manchester United it was different.

"I was just hearing negative stuff. It wasn't the same Mourinho that was at Chelsea the first time by the sounds of the stories we used to hear.

"If I was a player in that Tottenham dressing room now, people are talking about Dele Alli, Harry Kane possibly leaving things like that, if I was say there, I would love to work for him.

"He's one of the best managers there has ever been. His record speaks for itself. People might not like the way he does things sometimes, but he's a winner. I would love to have worked with the man."

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