Pundit lambasts Antonio Conte as ‘the biggest problem’ at Tottenham detailed – ‘it’s awful’
Noel Whelan has insisted the “awful” first-half performances at Tottenham must trigger a “rethink” by Antonio Conte over the World Cup break.
The former Leeds striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, claimed conceding first is “the biggest problem” for Spurs with the same thing happening “week-in, week-out”.
Tottenham fell 2-1 at home against Liverpool on Sunday (6 November) – dropping them down into fourth in the Premier League.
They followed up by losing 2-0 to Nottingham Forest in the League Cup on Wednesday night despite fielding a virtual full-strength team.
Conte’s side have now conceded the first goal in each of their last four Premier League games – picking up just three points in that period.
They also conceded first in their last three Champions League outings despite managing to qualify for the knockout stage as group winners.
Speaking on his podcast (6 November), former Man United defender and pundit Gary Neville accused Tottenham and Conte of having a “mentality” problem – slamming their “glass half full” setup.
Whelan told Football Insider’s Ewan Kingsbury: “They can’t keep chasing games like this.
“The first-half performances are awful and then there’s an improvement in the second half.
“It’s happened time and time again.
“It’s got to be so frustrating for the fans to see the same thing happen week-in, week-out.
“There is loads to look forward to for Tottenham both in the Premier League and the Champions League, but they’ve got to rethink the way they are starting games.
“It’s the biggest problem for them at the minute.”
Tottenham face Leeds United on Saturday in their last game before the mid-season World Cup break.
Conte’s side sit fourth in the Premier League – eight points adrift of leaders Arsenal.
In other news, expert backs Tottenham to complete two “big” January signings as mass exodus on the cards.