Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho has publicly apologized to midfielder Eric Dier after withdrawing him in the first half during their Tuesday Champions League comeback win over Olympiakos.
Spurs went 2-0 down in the opening 19 minutes and Mourinho acted swiftly by replacing Dier with Christian Eriksen just before the half-hour mark.
Speaking in his post-match interview with BT Sport, Mourinho said: “The first thing I want to say is to publicly what I did in the dressing room is to apologize to Eric Dier. It is never easy for a player but not for the coaching staff either. It was for the team and we needed a different solution.
”We were losing 2-0, they were closing really well, and I needed a second man with Dele Alli to come into the pockets. It was between Dier and Harry Winks but a hard decision.
Never Easy
"They understand, Eric understands but the reality it is never easy and to make it clear, it was about the team, not individuals. I thought about taking out one of the center-backs and putting Eric in defence.
After falling to the two goals, Dele Alli pulled one back on the stroke of half-time, before Harry Kane’s second-half double and a Serge Aurier goal sealed three points for Mourinho’s side and progress to the last-16.

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