London (AFP) – Mauricio Pochettino has urged Tottenham to face their problems “like a man” but he has a huge job on his hands to mend shattered morale after their 7-2 Champions League mauling by Bayern Munich.
The team are at a crossroads just four months after they appeared in the final of the competition against Liverpool, winning just three out of 10 matches so far this season.
In truth, reaching the showpiece in Madrid helped paper over the cracks after a rocky end to the last campaign in which their form dropped alarmingly.
A summer of uncertainty saw key players including midfielder Christian Eriksen linked with moves that did not materialise, which has had an unsettling effect on a club that is desperate to claim a regular place at Europe’s top table.
Tottenham have been patchy this season, with a B-string crashing out of the League Cup late last month at the hands of fourth-tier Colchester United.
After that defeat Pochettino talked about “different agendas in the squad”, hinting that all was not well in the dressing room.
But Tuesday’s punishing loss against the five-time European champions in their gleaming new stadium will do far more psychological damage.
It was the biggest-ever margin of defeat for an English team at home in European competition and the first time the club had ever conceded seven goals in a home match in any major competition.
Former Spurs and England winger Chris Waddle said off-field issues were getting in the way.
“I don’t think Serge Aurier wants to be there, Christian Eriksen hasn’t signed a new contract. There is so much going on off the pitch,” he said.
“It should have been dealt with over the summer. Instead all the contract questions are still going on. It’s a shambles.”
– Pochettino calm –
It is impossible to know what Pochettino said to his players behind closed doors at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but when he spoke to the press after the game he was measured.
“I think we are very critical of ourselves, to find always the way to fix problems,” he said. “We need again to try to work, to try to move on. I think it’s more psychological now.”
“The most important thing is to stay calm, no rushed analysis, no rushed judgement, no rushed assessment,” he added.
“You need to show your quality like a man first. To face it like a professional. This type of situation you have to show your quality, how you are strong.”
from World Soccer Talk https://ift.tt/2op5gTV
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