The Portuguese manager is no stranger to a bold claim and made the assertion after Spurs secured a 2-1 victory over local rivals Arsenal in the North London derby.

Jose Mourinho claimed Tottenham would be in the Champions League places had he been in charge all season after masterminding a “fantastic” victory over Arsenal. As well as hinting that He would win the Europa league next season.

Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld’s late winner secured victory for Spurs, who leapfrogged above Arsenal to put themselves back on course for a place in the Europa League.

But Mourinho, who took over as Spurs boss in November, said they would be even higher had he not taken over mid-season after Mauricio Pochettino was sacked after a poor run of results.

He said: “Big credit to the players because they were really fantastic. What I asked for them tactically they gave me, what I asked from them from the emotional point of view, they gave me even more. They were fantastic.

“I know I could look at in a selfish point of view and say since I arrived, if the championship started in that moment, even with all the problems we had I think we would now be fourth or fifth in the table.
“I don’t want to be selfish, I don’t want to look at it just as a fan that is happy to finish above Arsenal. I would love to play Europa League.

“It is not a competition I am in love with, it is not a competition I would like very much to play, but when you cannot play Champions League you play Europa League.
“In my career I only played Europa League twice, and I won it twice. It would not be bad to play it a third time and to win it a third time. We have to fight until the end to try to finish in a Europa League position.