Mourinho rubbishes claim he wants to delay Premier League return

Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho rubbished media reports on Thursday that he wants to delay Football Association's Project Restart. It was earlier reported that Mourinho wanted to delay the resumption of football in the country citing players' welfare.

All football in England have been suspended since March as a precautionary measure against the spread of coronavirus pandemic. June 12 has been mooted as the likely date for resumption of the game in the country.

In a statement issued by Spurs on their website, Mourinho said he is 'desperate' for Premier League to resume and hasn't asked for it to be delayed futher.

"I have not asked for any delay. I want to train, and I am desperate for the Premier League to return as soon as it is safe to do so, particularly now we are seeing other leagues preparing to return to action," Mourinho was quoted as saying in the statement.

"I am extremely proud of the way my players have maintained their fitness. They have shown great professionalism, passion and dedication.

"We have all been working extremely hard through remote squad training sessions and isolated running now the pitches are available to use again at the training centre," he added.

"Every player has been extremely committed in terms of their individual work and now we wait for clearance to commence working in small groups again, which I will fully support."

Mourinho's Spurs currently occupy the eight spot in the Premier League table, having accumulated 41 points in 29 matches.