Mourinho, speaking after their 2-0 win at Aston Villa, wondered why it took two dreadful performances to galvanise them into action.
Spurs lost 2-1 to Arsenal last Sunday, before crashing out of the Europa League after a 3-0 defeat at Dinamo Zagreb.
But goals by Carlos Vinicius and Harry Kane earned three points at Villa, taking Tottenham up into sixth place in the Premier League, just three points behind fourth-placed Chelsea.
“Okay I am really happy with [the response], but it is sad we need such a bad defeat to have this kind of reaction.
“This should not be a reaction, this should be a permanent state of mind, permanent soul in the team, I think that is our next challenge — to have this standard in terms of effort, commitment, sacrifice,” Mourinho said.
