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(Reuters) – Tottenham Hotspur manager José Mourinho said disappointing performances by his fringe players in Thursday’s 1-0 Europa League loss to Royal Antwerp would make it “very easy” to pick his team at the future.
Mourinho made nine lineup changes since Monday’s 1-0 Premier League win at Burnley, but Spurs fell behind in the 30 minutes after an error by defender Ben Davies allowed Antwerp forward Lior Refaelov, will score from close up.
Dele Alli, Steven Bergwijn, Giovani lo Celso and Carlos Vinicius were replaced at halftime, but the Spurs were unable to return to the same level. It was their first loss since losing 1-0 to Everton in the first Premier League weekend in September.
“I wish I had made 11 changes at halftime,” Mourinho told reporters. “I didn’t do five because I was afraid of 45 long minutes.
“I always like to think that the players deserve a chance. We have a great squad with a lot of good players,” he added.
“It is my responsibility to give them opportunities, but it is also their opportunity to seize the opportunity with both hands and ask for more.
“Tonight shows that my future choices will be very easy.”
(Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru; Edited by Peter Rutherford)
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