Tim Sherwood says Cristian Stellini was ‘scaring’ Pape Matar Sarr before Tottenham Hotspur’s humiliating 6-1 defeat to Newcastle United at St James’ Park on Sunday.
Before the game, pictures panned towards Cristian Stellini aggressively working with Pape Matar Sarr during the warm-up, aggressively closing down the midfielder as he was receiving the ball.
It’s something that didn’t sit well with Tim Sherwood, who found it ‘very interesting’ and, before a ball was kicked, he thought there was a ‘lack of trust in the boy’, and then, he let rip at the Spurs interim when they were destroyed by Eddie Howe’s Newcastle.
With Spurs 5-0 down inside 20 minutes and everyone having a torrid time, Stellini decided to substitute Sarr to bring on an even-more defensive change in Davinson Sanchez, just days after he was booed by his own supporters.
The managerless club reverted back to a back five, after starting with a 4-3-3, which was a big change to what this crop of players have been used to for over 18 months.
That tactical switch-up from Stellini ended in pure disaster for Antonio Conte’s right-hand man, but the treatment of Sarr didn’t sit well with Sherwood, as he told Premier League Productions (23/04/23 at 4:20 pm).
Pre-match on Stellini working with Sarr on St James’ Park pitch: “Very interesting,” said Sherwood. “Obviously, there is a lack of trust in the boy. He obviously doesn’t want him to get caught on the ball. He wants him to keep checking his shoulders.
“He is saying ‘look, there is the support, check your shoulders and know where I am’. It’s like a development coach that is, not somebody who is playing in your first team. He’s a coach, not a manager.
On Sarr/Stellini after the 6-1 loss: “The midfield players were picking the ball up and the Newcastle players were all over them – the young boy, Sarr. I felt sorry for him today. He was getting coached from the outset in the warm-up by Stellini as if he is a young boy trying to make the trade.
“We know he is a young boy, but it’s not the time, before the game, to make him aware. He was almost scaring him into a performance. Settle the boy down, that’s what you need to do. Settle him down and tell him to go and express himself because him, Skipp and Hojbjerg were non-existent.”
SCAPEGOAT SARR
It’s a shame how Sarr was treated at St James’ Park because he was thrown in the deep end, in difficult circumstances, and then subbed in the first half.
In truth, someone like Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who has been abject this season, should have been the one to make way, and not a 20-year-old being used as a scapegoat.
For now, this doesn’t bode well for the £15 million star (Sky Sports), but if Spurs remain patient with the youngster and put in a forward-thinking coach in the dugout, then Sarr will cook and showcase his potential.
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