Glenn Hoddle has pointed out that the same old issues that have plagued Tottenham over the last two seasons proved their undoing at Craven Cottage and has issued a warning to Ange Postecoglou’s men ahead of their Europa League quarterfinal next month.
While Spurs fans still retain hope that the club can go all the way in the Europa League and turn what has been a difficult season into a memorable one, their Premier League campaign appears to be petering out with a whimper.
Their 2-0 loss against Fulham on Sunday saw Tottenham drop down to 14th in the table, 10 points adrift of the top half of the table.
There were some unceremonious scenes after the final whistle as Postecoglou was seen angrily confronting a Tottenham fan, an incident which is indicative of the mood around the club and the pressure that the Australian coach is under.
Glenn Hoddle says that Tottenham are too easy to play against
In his post-match press conference, Ange Postecoglou rued the soft goals his side conceded after gaining control of the game in the second half.
Hoddle believes that Tottenham’s defensive issues have been a recurring theme throughout the 59-year-old’s tenure, and warned the Lilywhites that unless they tighten up at the back, they would have no chance of lifting the Europa League trophy in May.
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The Spurs legend told Matchday Live on Optus Sport: “That’s their Achilles heel the goals they give away, they’re not making teams really work hard and earn their goals. There are a lot of mistakes – even in Europe, they conceded the other day.
“They’ve got to tighten up a lot more if they’re going to go and improve their position in the Premier League – which is going to be hard – but if they’re going to go all the way in the Europa League, they’ve got to tighten up defensively.
“They are too easy [to play against] they concede too easily. They’ve got their chance to get blocks in, I didn’t see anyone really trying to really put their body in front and make a block, it’s a bit passive.”
Glenn Hoddle fears for Tottenham
Postecoglou did rotate his squad for the clash against Fulham after their exertions against Alkmaar last Thursday, and Hoddle believes that the Spurs boss was fully justified in doing that.
However, the pundit suggested that the players who came into the side lacked the belief and confidence to take the game by the scruff of the neck.
When asked about Postecoglou rotating the side, Hoddle said: “He’s thinking, ‘For three months I’ve never been able to make those changes’, so he’s tried to utilise his squad and protect a few players, but they’ve got to get on the front foot.
“Whoever goes out there from one to 11 needs to be more positive, and there’s got to be a real belief about themselves. There are times when they can put lovely football together, but it’s not consistent enough; and you can say that over many years!
“But the end of this season can’t be allowed to go out of the Europa League, and then finishing in the Premier League is going to be a very difficult thing to look at for Spurs fans.”