'The only thing more important than semi-finals is finals,' said Spurs head coach Jose Mourinho, who is looking to win a fifth League Cup title; watch Tottenham vs Brentford on Tuesday on Sky Sports Main Event & Sky Sports Football from 7pm; kick-off at 7:45pm
Tuesday 5 January 2021 08:18, UK
Jose Mourinho says Tuesday's Carabao Cup semi-final against Brentford is his biggest game since arriving at Tottenham and winning the competition could transform Spurs as they bid to end an almost 13-year wait for silverware.
Spurs last won a trophy in 2008 when Ledley King and Robbie Keane lifted the League Cup after beating Chelsea 2-1 in extra-time in the first final at the new Wembley.
Mourinho has a habit of winning the competition - three times with Chelsea, once as Manchester United manager - and has stressed just how important repeating that feat could be for Spurs.
"I think it is my biggest game since coming to Spurs," said Mourinho, who was appointed head coach in November 2019. "In the perspective of the club chasing silverware for many years I would say so.
"The only thing more important than semi-finals is finals."
Mourinho knows how beneficial winning the League Cup can be, with two of his three Premier League title-winning seasons coming off the back of a successful run in the competition.
Spurs are four points off top spot in the Premier League and Mourinho will no doubt be hoping they can use victory in the cup as a platform to mount a title challenge this season.
"For me every competition is important," he added. "I won what was then the Carling Cup in my first season in England in 2004/05, so for me every competition is different and does matter.
"That's my way of looking at things and especially in a club without silverware in I think more than one decade. Every competition becomes even more important.
"If we win two matches we win a trophy - two difficult matches of course - which I think would be a very good thing for the club and the players."
Mourinho also said he will refuse to let his players be "punished by a congestion of crazy fixtures" as he waits to hear the rearranged date for Spurs' postponed Premier League match against Fulham.
The Spurs head coach said the handling of Wednesday's postponement, which was confirmed less than three hours before kick-off, was "unprofessional" as he criticised league organisers.
But Mourinho's frustrations stretch back further than last week's incident. Spurs had to play five games in 11 days at the end of September, with the early stages of Europa League qualification causing the congestion.
Mourinho will have to deal with at least one more match being rearranged if Spurs beat Brentford and set up a date at Wembley on April 25 for the Carabao Cup final.
"I'm not happy with the fixtures since day one and in day one I was far from imagining that I would have a game postponed," said Mourinho.
"I'm not happy since day one that Man Utd and Man City - not that they didn't understand the season at the same time, I understand that because they deserve that extra week because of playing Europa League and Champions League last season.
"What I don't understand is how you can start the season without knowing when those matches are going to be played. I believe that we only knew that last week and I believe that is only because there were new matches to be postponed. That's the only reason we know now in my opinion.
"I would like to know when we play against Fulham. To speak about the Carabao Cup final, I refuse to do it, because maybe Brentford plays the final and not us. But I would like to know when I play against Fulham, refusing totally to be punished by a congestion of crazy fixtures like we were in the beginning of the season. I'm waiting."
