Agbonlahor savages Tottenham stars after new Antonio Conte training ground reveal
Gabby Agbonlahor has claimed former Tottenham boss Antonio Conte was right to slam his players after years of “letting the fans down”.
The former Aston Villa striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, suggested Jose Mourinho had the same problem – and time is now running out for an ageing squad to win a first trophy since 2008.
Tottenham confirmed Conte’s sacking on Sunday (26 March), just over a week after his explosive rant in the aftermath of the 3-3 draw at Southampton – in which he branded his players “selfish”.
As quoted by the BBC (19 March), he claimed the Spurs players “don’t want to play under pressure” and are only “playing for themselves”.
According to the Daily Mail (27 March), Conte held a heart-to-heart meeting at the club’s training ground in an attempt to end a run of poor form – but walked out to let the players find their own solution after the last arrival.
The Lilywhites sit fourth in the Premier League but have played more games than rivals Liverpool and Newcastle.
Football Insider revealed on Tuesday (28 March) that Tottenham have made contact with Julian Nagelsmann’s representatives following his sacking at Bayern Munich.
Agbonlahor told Football Insider’s Ewan Kingsbury: “He was a manager who was used to winning. He couldn’t do it at Tottenham, and he just exploded.
“I don’t think he’ll regret what he said about the players, and what he did behind the scenes.
“It’s really dangerous now for Spurs because Mourinho had some of the same problems with these players.
“They need someone with top-class man management skills, someone who can get these players performing.
“But this isn’t a young squad, and they’ve not won a trophy in a long time – it just doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. They have just let the fans down year-on-year.
“I ultimately think Conte was right to go after some of the players.
“But I think he’ll regret going after the club because they gave him more than enough players to put his own stamp on it.”
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