Wayne Bridge insists Jose Mourinho is NOT the best manager he has played for

Former England defender Wayne Bridge has surprisingly picked Glenn Hoddle over Jose Mourinho when naming the best manager he ever played for.

Bridge made over 300 Premier League appearances during his 16-year professional career after initially coming through Southampton’s academy.

He went on to enjoy the most successful spell of his career at Stamford Bridge, winning four major trophies, including the Premier League, under Mourinho. 

But Bridge still thinks Hoddle was better than Mourinho for his personal development, and has hailed the job he did at Southampton during his 14 months on the south coast.

Speaking at the launch of Clubhouse 5, a new state-of-the-art sports bar located just off London’s Leicester Square, Bridge told Mail Sport: ‘Best (manager) is a really tough one because I’d have to pick between Mourinho and Glenn Hoddle at Southampton. 

Bridge gave his thoughts on Jose Mourinho and Glenn Hoddle at the launch of Clubhouse 5

The new state-of-the-art sports bar recently opened just off London’s Leicester Square

‘He was unbelievable for me, he did unbelievable for Southampton. I think we were sixth in the league when he left. 

‘He was playing a formation, 4-3-3, which no one really talked about a lot, that’s what we were playing at the time. His attention to detail against the other teams, the way he got Southampton playing was unbelievable.

‘Like I said, he was great for me. I was probably just a bit annoyed he never took me to Spurs because I loved playing with him! It’s really hard because obviously Mourinho comes along and he wins loads of trophies, but for me personally I’d probably say Glenn Hoddle, I think he was unbelievable.’

Prior to taking the Southampton job in January 2000, Hoddle was in charge of the England national team for two-and-a-half years.

He led the team to the last-16 of the 1998 World Cup before they were cruelly knocked out on penalties by Argentina. 

Prior to his dismissal in February 1999, Hoddle appeared to be building a team capable of challenging for major honours, and Bridge feels England could have ended their lengthy wait for a trophy if he’d remained in charge.

Bridge won four major trophies under Mourinho at Chelsea, but still gave the nod to Hoddle

Bridge went on to name Avram Grant as the worst manager he ever played under

‘It’s one of those things. Maybe if he’d have stayed we might have ended up winning something because he is up there with the best, 100 per cent,’ Bridge added.

Bridge spent the majority of his career representing clubs in the top half of the table, but did spend the second half of the 2010-11 season on loan at struggling West Ham.

The Irons were unable to beat the drop that year with Avram Grant on the touchline, and Bridge has revealed he was the worst coach he played for.

Referring to Grant, Bridge said: ‘I just think about all the managers that I have had, and I got relegated with West Ham and he was there – it just didn’t work. So he’s probably the worst.’ 

Clubhouse 5 is London’s newest and hottest premium sports bar, located just off Leicester Square (5 Lisle St, London WC2H 7BF). Book your space at Clubhouse 5 on the We Love Sport app or head to Clubhouse5.co.uk or @clubhouse5bars on Instagram.