Former Tottenham ace explains why he’d swap Antonio Conte for Marcelo Bielsa

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Former Premier League midfielder Jamie O’Hara is crying out for a bit of excitement at Tottenham Hotspur and admits he would be tempted to swap Antonio Conte for Marcelo Bielsa, speaking to talkSPORT (14 February, 11.30pm).

Tuesday’s 1-0 Champions League round-of-16 first-leg defeat to AC Milan was Spurs’ entire season in a nutshell.

A defensive calamity gifting the Serie A champions an early lead; Cristian Romero bullied by Theo Hernandez before Brahim Diaz scrambled home at the second attempt. From there on, the closest Tottenham came to an equaliser at the San Siro was the odd long range pot-shot and a misguided Eric Dier header.

Error-prone at one end, insipid at the other. And not for the first time either.

“I would (take Bielsa),” O’Hara sighs, his patience in Conte rapidly running out. “I would enjoy the football. It would be great to watch. At least I would enjoy watching Tottenham. Bielsa is actually not a bad shout.”

Tottenham suffer Champions League defeat at AC Milan

Spurs barely created a hint of a chance at the home of a Milan side who recently conceded no fewer than 12 goals in just three games, and were also missing their talismanic goalkeeper Mike Maignan.

Heung-Min Son and Dejan Kulusevski were on the periphery throughout. And rarely has Harry Kane made such a minimal impact over 90 minutes of football; marshalled superbly by veteran centre-half Simon Kjaer.

Former Leeds United boss Bielsa, meanwhile, is not the only coach O’Hara would trade in Conte for.

“If Conte goes, I would take Poch (Mauricio Pochettino) back,” the one-time Spurs youngster adds.

“I want to enjoy watching my team play football because, at the end of the day, we can’t compete with Manchester City, we can’t compete with Arsenal, we can’t compete with Man United, and we aren’t going to be able to compete with Newcastle.

“We might come fourth, we might come seventh. But, you know what, I want to enjoy watching Tottenham play. And, right now, I don’t enjoy it; win lose or draw. That is the problem I’ve got.”