Tottenham Hotspur may need a result on the final day of the Premier League season to finish in the top four.
Garth Crooks has praised Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino for keeping his ‘cool’ 15 minutes after his team suffered a 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth.
The BBC Sport pundit wasn’t impressed with senior duo Dele Alli and Victor Wanyama as he questioned their commitment and manner of defending when Spurs conceded a Nathan Ake stoppage-time header.
For large parts of the second half, the away team were down to nine men because Heung-Min Son and Juan Foyth were given their marching orders on either side of the break.
Speaking to Final Score on BBC One (04/05/2019 at 4:45 pm), Crooks spoke about Pochettino remaining calm in a what has been a difficult week for his team.
“A tough old week,” Crooks told Final Score. “I thought his interview was very important after the game. He kept his cool. He didn’t come out of his dressing room for a good 15 minutes and when he did he calmed down and he kept everything in a calm perspective.
“Having said that, if you look at the stats, Bournemouth had more possession and they ran further, but that didn’t mean anything because it is all rested on a moment, a set-piece with seconds to go.
“It was Tottenham at their frustrating worst. Dele Alli and Wanyama, didn’t even jump. They are in the six-yard box. Don’t even jump. Head the ball! Clear the lines! They’ve got a semi-final of a Champions League in a few days time if they are not committed they will lose that game.”
That result at Dean Court means that Spurs have lost three games in the space of seven days 1-0. Last Saturday, they were beaten by West Ham United on home soil before losing to Ajax in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final.
Now, their top-four hopes have taken a little hit because they have dropped more points in their quest to secure Champions League football for next season.
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