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Southampton - Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho appeared to take a swipe at Inter Milan as the Italian club struggle to complete their protracted move for Christian Eriksen.
Mourinho left Eriksen out of his matchday squad for Saturday's 1-1 draw at Southampton in the FA Cup fourth round, even though the Denmark midfielder had travelled to St Mary's.
Inter have been chasing Eriksen for most of the January transfer window, while there has been speculation about his future ever since he said he wanted to leave Spurs last year.
It is believed Tottenham are close to agreeing a fee for Eriksen and he could head to Italy early next week for a medical.
But Mourinho is not happy at how he has been left with an unsettled player for several weeks when the deal could have been done by now.
"You can read what you want to read, I don't want to say anything. I just want to say that this situation shouldn't happen on the 25th of January," Mourinho told reporters after the Southampton match.
"And it is not Tottenham's fault that on the 25th of January we are in the situation."
Despite constant speculation surrounding Eriksen's future, Mourinho had used the playmaker on several occasions.
Eriksen came on as a second-half substitute in Wednesday's 2-1 win over Norwich, but was booed by some fans who have been unhappy about the Dane's supposed lack of commitment.
Mourinho refused to blame Eriksen and instead hinted it was Inter who should shoulder the responsibility.
"The only thing I can say is Eriksen, since I arrive, he is behaving in a very, very professional way, with me and the team," Mourinho said.
"Tottenham is the last one to blame for this situation, but to be on the 25th of January in a situation like this is not nice."
