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It wasn’t a debut to savor for Matt Doherty.
The Dubliner donned a Spurs jersey for the first time after his £ 15 million move from the Wolves, but the afternoon ended with a disappointing 1-0 loss to a vibrant Everton.
Subsequently, Doherty’s new coach, José Mourinho, was frank in his assessment of the full-back’s performance.
“You can, for example, look at Doherty, a player who is normally in incredible condition,” he said.
“He had no preseason. He went directly from vacation to national team games, without preseason, not a single training session. He played two consecutive games.
“Today, he was not Matt Doherty as he normally is.”
However, Doherty still showed positive flashes on Sunday and former Republic of Ireland and Tottenham defender Stephen Kelly is confident he will do well in London.
“From an Irish point of view, in the collision of the wings, I think it’s safe to say Seamus [Coleman] came out on top, “Kely told RTÉ 2fm’s Game On
“I don `t believe [Mourinho] I was pointing at Matt, I think it was more of an excuse for why he didn’t perform to the level we’ve seen him and what we expect of him.
“Okay, it was a slightly different position than the one he played for the Wolves because he’s a winger, not a winger. Usually he has a prowler role, moving forward, linking the game, going into the area, pressing high on the ball. countryside. .
“He couldn’t do that the same way on the weekend. He hasn’t had a preseason, he’s gone straight into games with Ireland that were probably deflating in some sense because it was his chance to get in. And it was a new start for him to play. for Ireland.
“The games weren’t exactly exciting, they were a bit disappointing from a general perspective. Then he went straight to Tottenham and was pushed to the first team. The coach is right, he hasn’t had much playing time and we expect much more from him. .
“As a winger … he will advance, he will also advance, but he will have to adjust to that role. He is more than capable. He will definitely fit in very well there, but he will take time to adjust.”
However, Kelly was less optimistic about the overall display of his old team.
The Spurs simply never got under way, deservedly losing to Carlo Ancelotti’s Toffees, who by contrast were full of creativity and energy.
“People do not like the complaining Mourinho, the one who comes and complains about everything, but I think he was quite accurate in what he said,” added Kelly.
“He pointed out that they were out of rhythm, they did not push, they were mediocre. They will be very disappointed with how they started the season.”
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