[Sport] Jose Mourinho says Tuesday's Carabao Cup semi-final against Brentford is the biggest game he has faced since taking charge of Tottenham.

[_Happy boy]

Jose Mourinho says Tuesday's Carabao Cup semi-final against Brentford is the biggest game he has faced since taking charge of Tottenham.

Mourinho, appointed in November 2019, is hoping to lead Spurs to their first major trophy since 2008.

"After more than one decade, every competition becomes more important - and if we win two matches, we win a trophy," Mourinho said.

The Portuguese manager has previously won the competition four times.

It provided him with his first trophy in English football at Chelsea in 2005 and he won it twice more with them before a further success as Manchester United manager in 2017.

Asked if this was the most important game of his tenure so far, Mourinho said: "In the perspective of the club chasing silverware for many years, I would say so.

"Of course, we always have important matches - last season we had a match at Crystal Palace that would give us participation in this season's Europa League or not.

"The match against Leeds [last Saturday] was very important as we went a few games without a victory in the Premier League. But I would say a semi-final is always a very important match. The only one more important is a final."

Mourinho is bidding to become the third manager to reach an EFL Cup final with three different clubs.

And should Spurs overcome the Bees, they will face either Manchester City or his former employers United next.

"Two difficult matches, of course, but if we win we get a trophy, which I think would be a very good thing for the club and for the players," the 57-year-old added.

"It is about my club, it is about the players who want trophies, it is about fans who want trophies and this one is the one where we just need two victories.

"Of course, [we face] difficult opponents but we need two victories and need to look at this semi-final with this ambition, respecting a very, very good team who kicked a few very good Premier League teams out of the competition."

Championship side Brentford have beaten four Premier League clubs to reach their first ever domestic semi-final.

And while Danish boss Thomas Frank respects his opposite number, he does not appear to be overawed by the challenge posed.

"I have studied football for many years and Jose is one of the greatest of all time so it's a privilege to play against his team," he said.

"I admire him a lot for having that fantastic career. But when the whistle blows it's just another bloke standing in the dug-out. I'm still pretty sure he also goes to the toilet sometimes!"

Meanwhile, Frank has called for consistent Covid-19 guidelines across the professional game in England to help resolve the scheduling problems associated with postponed matches.

"I think it's very important that we have guidelines the same across all the games," he said. "We are going to play so many games already, when will they find the time for the remaining games?

"If you don't have consistency, it will add up either extending the season again, then we are into the Euros. A strict guideline would really be helpful."

TEAM NEWS
Tottenham will be without right-back Matt Doherty, who is suspended after being sent off against Leeds, while fellow defender Joe Rodon is cup-tied.

Giovani lo Celso (hamstring) and Gareth Bale (calf) will also be absent along with winger Erik Lamela who broke coronavirus rules with two team-mates over the Christmas period.

Brentford are likely to be without midfielders Shandon Baptiste (knee) and Christian Norgaard (ankle).

However, the Bees have no other injury concerns and all of their players have tested negative for coronavirus.

MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head

This is the fourth time Spurs and Brentford will meet in the League Cup, with all previous three meetings coming across two legs in the second round in 1992-93, 1998-99 and 2000-01, with Spurs going through each time.
In all competitions, Brentford have never won an away match against Spurs in seven attempts (D2 L5). Their last win over Spurs was in March 1948 in a league match at Griffin Park.
Tottenham

Spurs are participating in their 16th League Cup semi-final, progressing from eight of their previous 15 attempts, most recently in 2014/15. They have always progressed when facing a non-top-flight side (1970-71 vs Bristol City, 2008-09 vs Burnley, 2014-15 vs Sheffield United).
Spurs boss Jose Mourinho has won 15 of his 17 home League/FA Cup matches as manager against non-Premier League sides (D1 L1). His only failures were against Bradford City in January 2015 with Chelsea in the FA Cup and against Derby County while with Manchester United in September 2018 in the League Cup.
Jose Mourinho is looking to become the third manager to reach the League Cup final with three different clubs, after Ron Atkinson (Manchester United, Sheffield Wednesday and Aston Villa) and Ron Saunders (Norwich, Manchester City and Aston Villa).
Brentford

Brentford are featuring in their first ever League Cup semi-final, becoming the 59th team to reach this stage. The last time a team reached this stage for the first time and progressed to the final was in 2012-13 (Bradford City and Swansea City).
Brentford are looking to register three consecutive wins in the League Cup for the first time in their history.
Brentford have already eliminated four Premier League teams in this season's League Cup, only the second non-Premier League side to do so in a season, after Bristol City in 2017-18 who were eventually beaten in the semi-final by Manchester City.