Mourinho warned he is treading same dangerous Solskjaer tightrope

Dimitar Berbatov has warned that Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho could be heading down the same path taken by Manchester United counterpart Ole Gunnar Solskjaer last season.

Mourinho started strongly after taking over from Mauricio Pochettino in November, but a recent narrow 3-2 win over Aston Villa has been followed up by defeats to RB Leipzig and Chelsea.

As such, Spurs – who have suffered injuries to key attackers Harry Kane and Son Heung-min along the way – have work to do to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Champions League and they are four points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea.

The former striker Berbatov has pointed out that the same trend in results happened at United last season after Solskjaer was handed his role on a permanent basis.

Having beaten Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, a poor run of form followed and the Red Devils eventually finished sixth, five points off the top four.

“Spurs’ difficulties under Jose Mourinho remind me of United under Solskjaer last season – a strong start before results tailed off,” Berbatov said.

“I haven’t lost faith in the Portuguese and we must remember that Spurs have had terrible luck with injuries to Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min, so I’m still backing Mourinho to succeed at Spurs in the end.

“Spurs players are feeling the pressure. Their fans have got used to qualifying for the Champions League and, although the race to finish fourth in the Premier League is still wide open, the players known this season will be considered a failure if they don’t make it.”

Tottenham face Wolves in North London on Sunday, with Nuno Espirito Santo’s side able to move above Spurs with a win.

Mourinho’s men follow that game up with clashes against Norwich in the FA Cup and Burnley at Turf Moor, before their crucial second leg against Leipzig in Germany.