Former Irish footballer Kenny Cunningham joined Joe Molloy on The Football Show this evening, taking a deep dive into the ongoing problems at Spurs.
Former Irish footballer Kenny Cunningham explained on The Football Show tonight just what it is that has gone wrong at Tottenham Hotspur recently, referencing that a lack of effort from the team may have been in a factor in what incited manager Antonio Conte’s explosive comments at the weekend.
“It’s hard to put your finger on it but with their performances this season there’s been consistent thing that I haven’t seen in any other team. They almost literally go through the motions, down tools and just can’t be bothered” he says.
“They’re like a Frankenstein team.
“I have a lot of sympathy for Conte in terms of what he had to say. People will say ‘ah he’s digging out the players’, well it’s a last resort in there. He’s tried to protect them, he’s tried to circumnavigate it, but obviously he’s got to the point now where it’s like ‘well this is it, I’ve got to try and throw a grenade into the dressing room because there’s nothing else left’ at this point.
“I don’t think there’s too many managers now that will sup that up so I’m fascinated to see what happens with him.”
Cunningham further spoke to the “soft underbelly” of the team and combatted the ulterior argument that “maybe the Spurs players mentally are in a bad place because of the dynamic between them and the manager over the prolonged period of time since he’s been there and how he interacts with them in terms of what he demands from them. Maybe over a period of time they stop listening and because of his man management style…but even as I say that it sounds a bit weak.”
“I’m a big fan of Conte personally but I imagine he can be a little difficult at time. Maybe he’s a little bit cold and distant and has that real Italian kind of mindset where he’s saying we’re professionals, we’re getting paid” he continued.
In fourth place of the Premier League table now with games in hand, the question lingers as to where they might finish up come the end of the season, as well as how the team and management group may progress from here.
“People are looking at them thinking they’ve a great chance but he’s looking at it thinking we;;..we’ve no chance” Cunningham says.
“It’s tough. You’d like to see the players kind of rise above that for the club…but generally speaking the perception would be that the manager has kind of thrown them under the bus.
"I think he's speaking from the heart there Conte I think he's at his wits end…I think he's right at the end of the day and telling hard truths."
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