Pedro Porro has decided to aim a dig back in the direction of Tim Sherwood after what the former Tottenham Hotspur interim head coach said about him earlier in his career at the club.
The Tottenham right-back has had to endure plenty of criticism about his defending since he arrived at the club two and a half years ago, and the most fierce came from a former Tottenham midfielder and interim head coach.
Sherwood criticised Pedro Porro following his debut against Leicester City in 2023, when he described the full-back as being “so bad, it’s unbelievable”, although he did retract those words somewhat later.
Last season, Sherwood said Porro is regularly getting exploited defensively, and it appears the 25-year-old has not forgotten those harsh words.
Pedro Porro and Tim Sherwood have a history of exchanges
The former Sporting Lisbon man has now done his talking on the pitch proving his defensive credentials in Tottenham’s march to Europa League glory.
Porro was part of a Spurs defensive unit which kept clean sheets away at Eintracht Frankfurt, and Bodo/Glimt, as well as during the Europa League final win against Manchester United in Bilbao.
When asked about Sherwood’s comments, the Spanish international told The Guardian: “You can ask him from me what he thinks now. People can think what they want. I’ve got no problem with him or anyone. It’s normal. It’s his opinion. Lots of people have an opinion: if you’re good, if you’re bad.
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“In truth, it does affect you, of course. It’s normal. You’re new, you have only been in the team a week, and it was my first game. But it’s football. And football is capricious. A year later I went back to Leicester and scored the first goal of the season. Football is like that. That toughens you.”
Porro explains why he is thankful to Sherwood and his other critics
Porro insisted that he was thankful that people were extremely critical of him, although he did not feel that at the time when the words were uttered.
He revealed that he used those words as motivation to improve and to prove that he belongs at the highest level.
The Tottenham man added: “As I have said before: thanks very much for having a go at me because that makes me strong too. It’s true that at first, it hurts because you think: ‘Bloody hell, let me breathe.’ But that’s normal. It’s the pressure that comes with football. They’ve paid £50m for you. And I have always had that mentality to change people’s opinions.”