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Tottenham manager José Mourinho criticized his players on social media after their dismal performance in the 1-0 loss to Antwerp, vowing to take them to training on Friday morning.
The north London squad were well off pace in the Europa League group stage clash in Belgium and Mourinho was furious at his team’s performance, stating that he would have happily made eleven changes at halftime.
A poor mistake by Ben Davies allowed Antwerp’s Lior Refaelov to overtake Hugo Lloris in the first half, and the Portuguese manager caused quite a stir by making four changes in the interval. He refused to hold back after the final whistle, posted a photo of himself on the team bus and claimed he was ‘upset’, promising to take his players to practice on Friday morning.
Tottenham coach José Mourinho lashed out at his players after their sad defeat to Antwerp
His team produced one of their worst shows with the Portuguese since he arrived last year.
Writing on his Instagram account, the Spurs manager said: ‘Bad performances deserve bad results. I hope everyone on this bus is as upset as I am. Training tomorrow at 11 am.
But his decision to publicly call out his stars on social media did not sit well with BT insider Martin Keown, who responded to Mourinho for embarrassing them.
Keown said: ‘(Keep it) in the dressing room, surely. I don’t think my respect for the coach will grow. Some of those who came out will be injured, maybe my career is over and I don’t think the players who came in were much better.
‘If you want to talk to me, talk to my face, right?
He criticized them for their ‘poor performance’ in their 1-0 defeat to Antwerp in the Europa League.
Mourinho lost patience with his players during the match, as he made four changes at half-time
‘These are messages and I think keep them at home. It’s rude, a bit childish at times. Players must keep their mouths shut and he is on Instagram.
‘I don’t think that’s healthy. When I see that kind of thing, I don’t think there is (union).
“It gets tough on the players, you have to keep them on board with those team players. It should be the same for all players. There must be a path for each player. It is a message for them, it hurts.
BT expert Martin Keown responded to Mourinho for using social media to embarrass his players
It was clear that Mourinho had lost patience with some of his players during the match, as he made four changes at half-time.
Dele Alli was the most notable player to be retired, failing to reach the second half for the second time in three starts this season, with Giovani Lo Celso, Steven Bergwijn and Carlos Vinicius also on the bench.
The 24-year-old former MK Dons star faces an uncertain future after Mourinho knocked him out of several teams for the day, but missed an opportunity to impress in Belgium. While Mourinho did not specifically name him, he emphasized that “future elections will be very easy” regarding team selection.
“Look, you know who our best team is,” he said. You know the same thing that I know, that everyone knows. But I always like to think that players deserve a chance.
It was a mistake by Ben Davies that allowed Lior Refaelov to shoot Hugo Lloris
‘We have a great squad with many good players. It is my responsibility to give them the opportunity to play and seize the opportunity with both hands and be in a position to ask for more.
And tonight my future choices will be very easy. But again, there is only one responsible. Not the players. It is my responsibility because it is my decision to play.
‘I don’t want to analyze individuals. I don’t like doing that, especially with you (the media). I think it’s fair to say that players with poor performances influence the team, but also the team influences individual performances.
So it’s not up to me to single out and bring some names to the table. You prefer to do that, before matches you always ask me why this player is not playing, why this player is not playing, why this player is not selected. Maybe now, for a few weeks, you won’t ask me that because you have the answer.
Mourinho was far from happy and stated that he would have made eleven substitutions at half-time
Dele Alli was one of the four stars hooked because he was unable to shine after being chosen to start the game.
It wasn’t just Alli who failed to shine in the first half, as Mourinho sent Son Heung-min, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Erik Lamela and Lucas Moura to try and change the complexity of the game. But he claimed he would have changed the entire lineup if he could in a mockery of his squad.
‘I would like to make 11 changes (at halftime). I didn’t do five because I was scared of 45 long minutes without any changes to make.
‘There is only one to blame, which is me. I made the team, I chose the players to start and at half-time I tried to improve the situation, but it was not enough.
“The dynamics of the first part were there and the mentality of the first part was there.”
