Jose Mourinho is trying to keep his players focused for their final matches against Leicester and Crystal Palace by telling them victories in both will secure the 2021 Europa League trophy.
Tottenham can no longer qualify for the Champions League and the Europa League a long slog of a tournament remains a much harder sell to players.
But Mourinho is trying to put a positive spin on being in Europe’s secondary competition by encouraging his stars to focus on the end goal.
It could be interpreted as over-confidence and critics will be quick to remind him of it if Spurs come up short. But he said: ‘I don’t care what you bring up and don’t bring up. I just want to motivate my players, and myself too.
‘I could think the Europa League will be a group phase I don’t want to say countries’ names or clubs because it would be disrespectful — with some countries where you have to travel eight or nine hours for a match.
‘And I could think of it as some matches at home in the best stadium in the world, if Boris Johnson allows, some spectators but not the full emotion of a big Champions League match.
‘I have won the Champions League before. The majority of my players have played in the Champions League final before. Others, they did not win it but they were constantly playing at the Champions League level. So we need to motivate ourselves.
‘I don’t want my players to be disappointed with the fact we don’t play Champions League. I want my players relaxed because they had a big target. This is a way to motivate the troops. If they think, “Oh, next year I have to play in the Europa League! There could be a qualification in the middle of September! I don’t want to do that”.
‘But if we say, “Come on, next season we are going to win the Europa League” that is a different feeling. So I talk about this extreme situation. It’s just an expression of motivation.’
Mourinho could also not resist another swipe at Manchester City after their Champions League ban for FFP irregularities was overturned. Trying to reclaim Champions League status will be Spurs’ main focus, of course.