Crystal Palace winger Andros Townsend has revealed Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho told his players to play for a draw on Sunday.

The 1-1 result saw Spurs qualify for the Europa League.

Townsend told talkSPORT, “We were obviously playing Tottenham and they only needed a point to finish in sixth, and you could tell the Spurs bench knew.

“Jose Mourinho was getting messages onto the pitch that they only needed a draw, and in the last ten minutes they were literally taking the ball into the corner."

But Townsend believes the Portuguese coach does not deserve bad press.

The winger noted: “I saw a stat that since Jose Mourinho took over, Spurs are fourth in the table on form.

“So it's crazy how the media can create a narrative and have people believing that a manager is being unsuccessful when the stats prove that is not the case.

“Mourinho is judged on wins, he's always been judged by wins, his style of play has never been amazing but he's won titles.

“So when he's come in at Spurs and they are used to playing good football under Pochettino, when they lose the odd game it's all 'Mourinho is finished'.

“But when you look at the facts he's actually had a very good season since he's joined Spurs."