Martin O’Neill has suggested that Davinson Sanchez is ‘not able’ to do what Antonio Conte is asking for him at Tottenham, as he told Stadium Astro.
The former Premier League boss added that Tottenham’s £42 million man (BBC Sport) should, at the very least, do the ‘simple’ things if other things are difficult to do.
After losing three Premier League games on the bounce, the Spurs players are now finding themselves under a very heated spotlight.
One of those players that coming under criticism is Sanchez, after yet another questionable performance during his side’s 2-0 defeat to Wolves at the weekend.
O’Neill shared his thoughts on the problems in north London and how Sanchez is struggling.
“You just mentioned, does Sanchez know what he is doing?” said O’Neill.
“If the instructions from the manager, especially this manager, are not clear to you, then I would be really, really surprised at that. You know what you have to do.
“As a player, the manager comes in, he’s a big manager, he’s looking for something and you start to think that he is looking for something that you are not able to do. That becomes your concern. Do your job.
“As a central defender, your main task is to win the ball. Try to keep the ball out of your net. Contest and compete for everything that you can. Please do that. That’s simple. It shouldn’t change.”
Eric Dier has been a clear miss at the back for Spurs, not just in terms of how he has been playing of late, but his leadership at the back.
But one man’s absence shouldn’t cause so much chaos, confusion and error-prone performances.
Someone like Joe Rodon hasn’t had much of a shot under Conte and it’s probably high time he is selected.
Given Wales have crucial World Cup qualifiers coming up, it was a surprise that he didn’t move in January, even on loan, but his minutes might now increase given how abject certain players have been in defence.
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