Jose Mourinho has revealed he refuses to praise Tammy Abraham because he can always improve, after the former Chelsea forward scored the winner in Roma's 1-0 victory over Leicester City.
Abraham leaped highest from Lorenzo Pellegrini's corner and directed a powerful header past Kasper Schmeichel for his 25th strike of the season. This proved to be the only goal of the game as Roma booked their place in the Europa Conference League final against Feyenoord later this month.
After drawing 1-1 at the King Power Stadium in the first-leg, Roma produced a professional performance in the Italian capital and Abraham played a vital role in sealing their spot in Albania's final. He led the line superbly, running the channels while also holding the ball up to bring his team-mates into play.
Mourinho made Abraham one of his first signings at Roma last summer and the pair have struck up a rather different-kind of relationship in the public eye. The former Manchester United manager admitted he doesn't like to praise Abraham as he knows he can 'do better'.
"Tammy knows, I refuse to speak highly of him," Mourinho said. "Because he can do better and he knows that! He is a great player with potential to be even greater.
"I refuse to praise him! He needs to work this hard in every game, not just when we are up against Lazio or fighting for a European Final!"
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Abraham has enjoyed a new lease of life since swapping the Premier League for Serie A last July. He is the division's fifth highest scorer and has also grabbed some vital goals in Europe this term.
The England international's 27 goals for club and country over the course of the season saw him break Gabriel Batistuta's Roma record and there is still five games to go. The Italian side currently sit fifth in Serie A.
"My job is to be active around the box," Abraham told BT Sport. "That’s the kind of striker I am.
"Whenever I sniff an opportunity I try to take my chance. I’m not the best at heading but today was a pretty good one. It was a bit of a surprise, but it doesn’t matter who is marking me, if I sniff a chance I have to go for it."
