Cristian Romero has hit out at Tottenham, branding the club's depleted squad as 'disgraceful'.
Spurs mounted a remarkable comeback to defeat Manchester City at the weekend, though Romero had to be withdrawn at half-time. Despite being forced off through illness, the defender witnessed his teammates achieve the seemingly impossible against Pep Guardiola's side.
Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT
However, the Argentina international has expressed frustration at how severely Thomas Frank has been restricted by injuries, with minimal reinforcements arriving to address the crisis. James Maddison, Rodrigo Bentancur, Mohammed Kudus, Ben Davies, Lucas Bergvall, Richarlison, Pedro Porro, Micky van de Ven, Dejan Kulusevski, Djed Spence and Kevin Danso were all unavailable for the City clash.
Frank could only select 11 senior players for the Premier League encounter, with five substitutes on the bench yet to make their top-flight debut.
Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT
EXPRESS SPORT ON FB! Get all the best sports news and much more on our Facebook page
Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT
The January transfer window saw last season's leading goalscorer Brennan Johnson leave, whilst midfielder Conor Gallagher arrived. Spurs subsequently acquired 19-year-old left-back Souza for £13million, all whilst dealing with mounting injury problems across the squad.
Frank acknowledged last week that his squad had been weakened since the window closed. Romero evidently shares this view and, not for the first time, has voiced his discontent with the club.
Romero posted on Instagram: "Great effort from all my teammates yesterday, they were incredible.
"I wanted to be available to help them even though I wasn't feeling well, especially since we only had 11 players available - unbelievable but true and disgraceful.
"We'll keep showing up and taking responsibility to turn this around, working hard and staying together. All that's left is to thank all of you for being there and for always supporting us, the fans".
Spurs manager Frank praised his squad's determination at the weekend. Speaking after the comeback, he remarked: "It is not easy [staying calm],".
"What I like and what I think is truly important is when your back is against the wall as a team and a group you need to fight - you can never give up. I love that never say die attitude from the players and the fans were massive for us.
"That never says die attitude which I think has been in the team. The mentality is building stronger, and stronger."
Football transfer news and rumours plus selected offers and competitions Invalid email
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. Read our Privacy Policy
Get More of Our News on Google
Set Daily Express as a 'Preferred Source' to get quicker access to the news you value.
Reflecting further, he added: "I don't know if it was the best," and "There are always big 45 minutes, but that character and mentality the players showed, we tried to install belief.
"How they went out in the second half and came back, that shows everything about the group. That never-say-die thing they have shown for a long time now but we got the result which is big."