Danny Murphy and Jermaine Pennant have accused Jose Mourinho of men’s mismanagement because of his public criticism of Tottenham midfielder Tanguy Ndombele after Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Burnley.
The Spurs manager trusted Ndombele for his performance at Turf Moor, as the 23-year-old did not make a single tackle or interception until he was hooked at half-time.
He was replaced by Giovani Lo Celso, who led the match in the second half as the London team returned from a goal to claim the score thanks to the penalty from Dele Alli.
Ndombele joined Tottenham in a £ 55m deal with Lyon last summer, but has struggled to make an impact, with fitness issues, which means he rarely finishes more than 60 minutes each time he starts games.
And Mourinho didn’t take his criticism of the player after Burnley’s draw.
Although he did not name any names, he made it clear that he was talking about Ndombele in his post-match interviews and said that he could not “continue to give him opportunities”, while demanding a “Different level” from French.
“We need more from certain players, more responsibility, more attitude, more intensity, and we got it in the second half with the changes I made,” Mourinho told talkSPORT.
But former Liverpool winger Pennant was not impressed by Mourinho’s comments and criticized the boss for publicly shaming the Spurs star.
“I don’t think it’s correct,” he told Natalie Sawyer on talkSPORT. “How is this going to help the player?” It’s not that, it will shatter her confidence!
“If he doesn’t play well, that’s when the man management skills have to come out; you put your arm around him and talk to him – what’s going on, how’s it going spend your personal life, how do you find the Premier League, how do you find England, are you settled?
“You don’t say,” I’m not going to give him another chance “, because it will only make things worse and it gives fans the right to put themselves on your back as well, so this is additional pressure on him.
“I think it’s poor. You should shoot him on the training ground, have a man-to-man conversation with him, fix it and see what the problem is, why his performance is not worth what his price.
“You don’t embarrass him publicly!
“I think he’s just looking for an excuse because he’s their biggest player. Tottenham is not doing very well at the moment, but when the team is not playing well and your biggest contract is not performing well, it is a team affair, not just a player. “
Murphy agrees that Mourinho was too hard on Ndombele and that the ace did not deserve to be hammered over the other underperforming players at the club.
But the former Tottenham midfielder insists he “wouldn’t have a problem” if the manager hijacked him like that, and thought the player should be excited by Mourinho’s comments.
And if Ndombele doesn’t have the mental strength to bounce back from his public hideout, Murphy says he shouldn’t be a Tottenham player.
“I am loyal to Ndombele because I watched the game and he didn’t deserve to be honored,” said Murphy. “He shouldn’t have dug it up
“I was at the game and there were half a dozen Tottenham players as bad as he was.
“It was not only him, the team is struggling to have confidence.
“But if I heard Mourinho talk about me like that, I would agree with that, I wouldn’t mind. I was watching the game back and I was like,” Was I hiding? Would I have could you do more with the ball? ”
“I have no problem with the manager going out like that, because if the manager releases you in the press, he has already planned for you in the locker room beforehand.
“What I would say is that I think the emotional dependence of footballers has dropped. I’m a little fed up that players are so protected from this kind of criticism.
“He says it publicly, which is not ideal, but I would use it as an” I will show you “. If you consider him as” I am the victim, why me? “, You should not be at Tottenham anyway.
“He shouldn’t have done it, it’s not ideal, I hope he tries to talk to him one-on-one and put his arm around him and help him he has problems, I agree with that.
“But everywhere we look now, there is this mentality of whining and blaming everything, it’s someone else’s fault.
“Take responsibility, take criticism of José, knock on his door, chat with him, train hard, put yourself back on the team and tell him: ‘I’ll prove you wrong, give me another luck’ . “
Listen to an excerpt from Danny Murphy and Jermaine Pennant on talkSPORT above