‘I don’t understand’: BBC pundit perplexed by treatment of benched Tottenham player

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Micah Richards told the Monday Night Club on BBC Radio 5 Live Sport that he ‘doesn’t understand’ why Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho benched Matt Doherty on Sunday.

Spurs suffered a 1-0 defeat at Brighton, with Mourinho opting to play midfielder Moussa Sissoko at right wing-back instead of Doherty.

Whilst Doherty can be questioned as an out-and-out right-back, he made a name for himself and was purchased because of his qualities as a wing-back.

Yet Richards, who played in that position during his career, was left perplexed by the treatment towards Doherty over the weekend.

“What I don’t understand is that Spurs played with a three at the back,” said Richards. “And they played Sissoko wing-back.

“I know he has done well in a wide right role, at times. More with a four at the back and four in midfield.

“But you have Matt Doherty sitting on the bench there. What’s going through his mind? I could understand if they were playing a four at the back.

“At Wolves, he played wing-back and he was very effective from the wing-back position. It wasn’t just Spurs looking at him. Loads of teams were looking at him.”

The problem Mourinho has now is that the team isn’t performing, individual players are off-colour, Harry Kane is injured and they are slipping down the table.

Tottenham’s showdown with Chelsea on Thursday will either be the much-needed confidence booster that they need or it will send things crashing down even more.

New Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has opted for a flat back four since his arrival, so that might result in Mourinho doing the same, but will Doherty return to the starting fold?