Mourinho: I'm the champion of the last five matches!

London, July 25: Jose Mourinho insists he does not need to prove his worth but highlighted Tottenham's strong run of form as "the champion of the last five matches".

Former Chelsea and Manchester United manager Mourinho replaced Mauricio Pochettino as Spurs head coach in November.

Tottenham have subsequently improved under the Portuguese, yet he has not been able to rescue a top-four spot and Europa League football is far from assured.

Mourinho has been the subject of some criticism at times, with his side enduring a seven-match winless run either side of the season's suspension and later suffering a costly 1-3 defeat at Sheffield United.

But the coach is looking towards next season with optimism and suggests recent results show his credentials.

Spurs have taken 13 points from their past five matches, the best haul in the league over this spell as they have beaten Everton, Arsenal, Newcastle United and Leicester City.

Results | Points Table | Fixtures

"If you think I need to show [my worth], okay, im going to try," Mourinho told reporters. "If this is about individuals and an individual approach, lets go for an easy one.

"I'm fourth in the league [since arriving]. I arrived 14th, eight points from Arsenal, 12 from a Champions League position. But if the league starts only for me, if you want to go in that direction, I'm fourth in the league.

"If you think that's bad, that's your opinion. If you want to laugh with me, I'm the champion of the last five matches!

"I try to do my best all the time, I'm not worried about proving [anything]. My most important match is the next one, the most important season is the next one.

"It's not what you think, anything that can come from outside, that can motivate me more or less. It's just my nature; I don't need that. I look forward to next season."

Mourinho added injuries were to blame for Tottenham's earlier issues, with talismanic striker Harry Kane among those out for an extended period.

The two-time Champions League winner claims any rival manager would similarly struggle in such a situation.

"I think in this last period it was very clear that Tottenham with all the best players available can be a very good team," he said.

"You look to the season: they lost [Hugo] Lloris for a long time, then Kane. Now with everybody together, you a see a difference in performances and results.

"In case we have a similar situation, we are trying to protect the squad against unpredictable things. Let's try to have a better squad to be ready to face a dramatic situation.

"I was telling Brendan [Rodgers, Leicester manager] to lose Ricardo [Pereira], [Caglar] Soyuncu, [Ben] Chilwell, [Christian] Fuchs... Can he do a miracle?

"It's very difficult. It's difficult for everybody. It was very difficult for Tottenham.

"Do we think next season we are going to be less unlucky? Yes, we do think that. But at the same time, we have to protect ourselves and build a better squad, with more balance."