'Beautiful' Lloris-Son row a sign Spurs are growing up: Mourinho

Tottenham Hotspur v Everton - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Britain - July 6, 2020 Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min with manager Jose Mourinho after the match, as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) [Adam Davy/Pool via REUTERS]

The sight of Tottenham Hotspur teammates Hugo Lloris and Son Heung-min clashing at halftime during their 1-0 victory over Everton on Monday was “beautiful” and a sign that the team is growing up, manager Jose Mourinho has said.

Goalkeeper Lloris and forward Son had to be held apart by teammates shortly after Everton’s Richarlison had gone close to an equaliser, with Lloris clearly angry at Son for not tracking back in the build-up to the chance.

Mourinho said his players were fired up by his criticism of their limp performance in Thursday’s 3-1 defeat by Sheffield United and said the incident showed they were demanding more of each other.

“It’s beautiful,” the Portuguese added. “If you want to blame somebody for that, it’s me, because I was critical of my boys, because they are not critical enough with themselves, with each other.

“It’s something very important for the team to grow and for that you need to demand from each other and be strong personalities.

“A team of nice boys, the only thing they can win is the Fair Play Cup, which is something that I never won and I am not interested in.”

The victory was Mourinho’s 200th in the Premier League and moved Spurs up to eighth.