It has been claimed that Spurs boss Igor Tudor “killed” Antonin Kinsky against Atletico Madrid, but the head coach apparently did the goalkeeper “a favour”.
Kinsky endured a nightmare Spurs debut on Tuesday night as he was hooked after only 17 minutes in his side’s Champions League round of 16 first leg against Atletico Madrid.
The inexperienced goalkeeper slipped twice in the opening moments of the game as Spurs went 3-0 down in 15 minutes. Tudor then brought on Guglielmo Vicario to replace Kinsky.
Since this incident, Tudor has been accused of “killing” and “destroying” Kinsky, with it widely deemed that this moment will be difficult to come back from.
However, former Premier League forward Troy Deeney has sided with Tudor, with the pundit angered by the goalkeeper’s reaction to going off.
“We’ve all been subbed when a player gets sent off. You sit next to your team, you ride it out together,” Deeney said on CBS Sports.
READ: Tudor ‘kills’ another Spurs career besides his own as Kinsky becomes humiliated collateral damage
“He’s having a poor time, you get dragged… by the way, he made the mistakes, not the manager, no one else. Manager makes the change, you have to sit with your team.”
When asked if Kinsky was right to hide his emotions from the cameras, Deeney doubled down: “No because we’re in a situation where as a team and a group we’re in the trenches now.
“You don’t have time to feel sorry for yourself, you don’t have time to go and gather your thoughts, we’re all in this.”
Paul Merson also sided with Tudor. He said on Sky Sports: “The manager, to his credit, has done that tonight with the goalkeeper and thought ‘do you know what, I’ve got to bring him off’; he’s done him a favour, the lad was like a rabbit in the headlights.”
Spurs standout Micky van de Ven does have sympathy for Kinsky, though he has also spoken on the “doomsday scenario” at the club.
“It’s terrible for him too, he’s making his debut. You wouldn’t wish this on anyone,” Van de Ven said.
Speaking generally on the manner of Tottenham’s loss, Van de Ven explained: “Terrible, to be honest: a doomsday scenario.
“Everything that could go wrong in the first twenty minutes went wrong. Everyone slips, including me. Those are moments you simply can’t do anything about. I can’t just stand here and start blaming the pitch.”
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Van de Ven added: “I could, of course, give the standard talk that we all have to stick together and work hard, but we’re just being dealt a blow after a blow. It’s just really difficult.
“We have an important match this weekend that I can’t be at, because I’m suspended, of course. But it’s a truly terrible time. How am I feeling mentally? It’s tough, I can tell you. Really tough.
“I have to keep going; this is life. I’m not on my phone anymore; I’m completely done with it. Only family and stuff.”