Gus Poyet has told Thomas Frank that he has to get more out of one Tottenham star, as his quality is not in doubt.
As expected, there has been a huge autopsy of every single one of Tottenham’s decisions after their humiliating 4-1 defeat to Arsenal in the North London derby.
Some pundits have laid the blame on Spurs’ poor recruitment, while many others have suggested that Thomas Frank is too defensive in his tactical set-up.
The main problem that continues to plague the Lilywhites is their lack of creativity, with Tottenham registering an xG of just 0.07 at the Emirates Stadium.
Xavi Simons has not had an easy start at Tottenham
Former Tottenham midfielder and assistant coach Gus Poyet believes that Frank needs to get more out of Xavi Simons than he has done so far.
The Uruguayan insisted that the Dutchman’s quality is not in any doubt and urged the former Brentford boss to give him a run of matches in the number 10 role.
Poyet said about Xavi (via Sports Mole): “I first saw him playing for the Netherlands when I was coach of Greece. His strength is to be in between the lines, receiving the ball in between, being very direct and trying to create problems in behind.
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“In one of the Spurs games, he was in that position a few times, and I thought, ‘okay, he’s settled.’ But it’s a period of adaptation for a new player.
“But specifically him, he needs the team to play in a certain way for him to be able to do what he does best. And at the moment, with Spurs up and down, it’s difficult. So we need to give him time. I don’t think it would be a problem because he’s got plenty of quality.”
Xavi deserves a run in the Spurs team
Benching Xavi earlier in the season was understandable when Tottenham were winning, but it seems very questionable when the Lilywhites are not only losing but putting up xG figures of less than 0.1.
One would expect Frank to now give a run of matches to the Dutchman, but Lucas Bergvall’s return from injury perhaps complicates the decision a little.
Xavi certainly deserves to start against PSG on Wednesday, with the Netherlands international having a point to prove to his former side.