Arsenal legend Adams: Mourinho was doing a fantastic job when Spurs sacked him

Tony Adams has mounted a surprising defence of former Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho, saying the Portuguese was 'fantastic' at the North London club.

Mourinho was sacked by Spurs in April after just 17 months in the managerial seat, and just days before the club faced Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final, which they went onto lose.

After making a flying start in the 2020/21 season - thanks to an excellent partnership between Harry Kane and Heung-min Son - Mourinho's tenure at Spurs withered, with the 58-year-old suffering 10 league defeats in a season for the first time in his career.

Indeed, the Portuguese won just 44 of his 86 matches in charge at Spurs, with the fans despondent about the ultra-defensive style of play he employed as manager.

But Arsenal legend Adams announced that he believed Mourinho was on the cusp of turning things around at White Hart Lane.

'I actually thought Mourinho was doing a fantastic job for Spurs,' Adams said on Sky Sports ahead of Sunday's north London derby against Arsenal.

'To be honest I never thought of him as a Tottenham manager. He’s not open enough for them, but they were getting it together (at Spurs).'

'They had a good system of play and I don’t think they’ve got that at the moment, so I want to be in the Arsenal dressing room!’

Mourinho is now back plying his trade in Serie A with Roma, with the club fourth in the league having won four of their first five matches.

After a lengthy search for a new manager, Spurs settled on Nuno Espirito Santo, who like Mourinho started well. But Tottenham have lost their last two Premier League games and taken severe criticism for their weak, listless performances.

The only possible factor in Spurs' favour ahead of the derby is the even worse form of Mikel Arteta's Arsenal, who sit four places below their north London rivals in 14th in the league.