Former Arsenal star Martin Keown spoke on BT Sport after Tottenham’s defeat to Royal Antwerp in the Europa League on Thursday.
Spurs flew to Belgium as the favourites to win the game, but were outclassed by Antwerp. Jose Mourinho’s men looked flat and were arguably lucky to come away with just a 1-0 defeat.
The Tottenham boss was predictably critical of his players in his post-match press conference. Mourinho claimed that he would have made 11 changes at half-time if he could (Football London) but he didn’t stop there.
The former Chelsea and Manchester United manager took to Instagram to have his say on his side’s performance, and it is fair to say that he wasn’t at all happy.
Mourinho has never been shy to have a go at his players publicly. The Portuguese boss has received plaudits as well as criticism for his comments after the game, but Martin Keown feels that a post on social media is just one step too far.
He said: “I don’t think my respect grows for the manager. Some of those players would have felt wounded at half-time, the players who came on were hardly any better. Is this how we’re going to communicate?
“If you want to talk to me, talk to my face. After the draw against West Ham, we’re hearing he didn’t speak to the players for four or five days but spoke in the public. Keep it in house. It’s a bit childish. Keep it in the dressing room, I’m not sure that’s healthy.”
Mourinho has had success with players by criticising them publicly. Tanguy Ndombele is a very good example of that, and the Spurs boss will be hoping that everyone in his squad will react just as well as the Frenchman did after his difficult debut season in England.
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