Jol plays down Mido touch
The 21-year-old made an immediate impact with two goals on his debut and after sitting out Tottenham’s fourth-round replay victory over West Brom he is eligible to make his FA Cup bow against Nottingham Forest tomorrow.
Mido may have arrived at Tottenham with a shadowy reputation having been through five clubs in as many years, but he is working hard to prove himself to Jol.
He has been coming in to train on his days off, pushing himself through an extra hour of fitness work to ensure he is in the best possible shape to challenge Jermain Defoe, Fredi Kanoute and Robbie Keane for a place in the starting line-up.
He took a knock to the hip in training yesterday but is in the squad to face Forest and a full house will turn up at White Hart Lane expecting another all-round Mido masterclass.
Jol, though, cautioned against levelling too much pressure on him too soon.
“It is always good to start like that but one swallow does not make a summer,” said Jol.
“It’s early days. Now, can he live up to the same standards as he delivered on that day?
“He is a good lad. He comes in on his day off and he wants to do extra. He is very eager and I think it was a good decision for him to come in.
“He is on loan with us for 18 months, which is a long time, and if he delivers like he can do, we will be very happy with him.”
Mido fell out with the former Egyptian national coach Marco Tardelli and recently had to fly over to Cairo to issue an apology in an attempt to save his international career.
He also admitted making mistakes at Ajax, where he clashed with coach Ronald Koeman and reportedly threw a pair of scissors at strike partner Zlatan Ibrahimovic during a heated argument.
Given Mido’s track record, Tottenham could find themselves with a ticking timebomb on their hands as Jol continues to employ a rotation system up front.
But the laid-back Dutch coach insisted Mido knew exactly the situation he was heading to when he agreed to switch to the London club from Roma.
“I spoke to him before he came and he knows what I expected from him,” said Jol.
“You must be excited about your own talent. If you want to play in the Premiership you have to have a lot of confidence in yourself.”
Mido arrived at White Hart Lane a fortnight ago and joined a squad Jol believes is developing a “priceless” chemistry that can land the club its first FA Cup since 1991.
“When we started the season we had more new players than any other team and they had to adjust. I am proud that we reached the last eight of the Carling Cup, that we are in the last 16 of the FA Cup and hopefully the last eight,” said Jol.
“The players realise this is different. Players like Michael Carrick, Michael Brown, Nourredine Naybet all want to play. And Ledley King has played every game for us this season. Everybody wants to play. The players say they want to part of it.”
Jol has also added Michael Dawson and Republic of Ireland star Andy Reid - signed in a double deal from Nottingham Forest during the transfer window - two players who will provide Tottenham with a healthy insight into how Forest are likely to compare.
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