GOAL

Jose Mourinho admits he went against government protocol by leading Tottenham players in a training session this week.

Footage emerged of the manager and members of his squad going through training sessions that breached government measures intended to contain the spread of coronavirus.

Despite government advice to stay at least two meters away from others in public, Spurs defenders Davinson Sanchez and Ryan Sessegnon were pictured running side-by-side on Tuesday.

Mourinho was seen overseeing a separate session for the club's record signing Tanguy Ndombele, while full-back Serge Aurier posted a video on Instagram of him running beside another player. 

Tottenham responded by reminding staff of the current rules and urging them to abide by social distancing measures. 

And Mourinho has acknowledged that he disobeyed the measures put in place as the crisis continues and urged others to respect them.

"I accept that my actions were not in line with government protocol and we must only have contact with members of our own household," Mourinho said.

"It is vital we all play our part and follow government advice in order to support our heroes in the NHS and save lives."

Tottenham were also urged to adhere to advice from the authorities by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, who fears young supporters may decide to follow their example and ignore calls to stay home. 

"My concern is people, particularly children who might support Spurs or follow football, may see these images, pick up a paper, watch the internet and think, 'well if it's OK for them, why isn't it OK for me?'," Khan said to BBC Breakfast.

"I don't think it is necessary to be training in close proximity with another player who may be carrying the virus. And what you're doing is inadvertently, unintentionally, potentially spreading the virus - you shouldn't be doing that."

Tottenham have already faced criticism since the coronavirus outbreak brought English football to a halt last month.

The London club decided to cut the wages of all non-playing staff by 20 per cent in response to the crisis, a decision which was followed by Liverpool before the Premier League leaders were forced to reverse it.