Tottenham Hotspur legend Pat Jennings has leapt to the defence of Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
The 77-year-old was speaking to i about Tottenham’s goalkeeping situation.
Jennings says criticism of Lloris’ ‘half-mistakes’ has been harsh and his age has nothing to do with it.
The 2018 World Cup winner has been an outstanding player for Spurs and France over the years.
However, errors have crept into Lloris’ game this season, leading to some criticism.
The £12million star is currently out injured, and Fraser Forster has been deputising admirably for the 36-year-old.
Indeed, there has been debate over whether Lloris should automatically retake the starting XI gloves when fit again.
Jennings, who made over 400 appearances in the Spurs goal during his career, said both players were “brilliant”.
He also spoke at length about Lloris in wake of the criticism he has been getting.
“Poor old Hugo has been getting criticised for half-mistakes,” Jennings told i.
“They’re saying it’s his age, 36. I was playing in the World Cup finals on my 41st birthday.
“He’s got a long way to go to catch up to that, and how can you criticise a World Cup winner?
“He’s been brilliant over the years.
“I wouldn’t be thinking about replacing him, he’s as good as anybody there is out there at the minute.”
Gruelling season
Could it be that Lloris has just been overworked this season?
As well as being first-choice for Spurs, he also had a long and exhausting World Cup campaign with France.
He helped take les Bleus all the way to the penalty shootout in the final.
While it’s not nice for any player to be out injured, maybe this enforced rest will have done Lloris some good.
Hopefully he can come back to action back to his best and quickly silence the critics as to his quality.
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