Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli says he has a winning mentality.
Tottenham Hotspur’s loss against RB Leipzig in the first leg was a frustrating game for the home side.
No player summed that up like Dele Alli, who was substituted and stormed off, before throwing his water bottle to the ground.
Alli was as annoyed with his own display as he was with Tottenham’s result, a 1-0 loss.
He spoke to The Mirror ahead of the second leg and defended himself.
Alli said: “As a player you always want to play well and help the team as much as you can. You don’t always show it in the right way, but I am a very passionate player and I care.
“When I am not playing well and we are not winning it is very hard to curb your emotions on the night.
“When you have got a winning mentality and when you are passionate, sometimes when you are 1-0 down and you are coming off not having helped the team as much as I would have liked to have, sometimes it is hard to hide your emotions.”
At least with Alli, he shows he cares. Tottenham need that right now, with their squad hit by injuries to key players.
If Tottenham suffer more losses, there may be more shows of petulance from the England midfielder, although the club’s staff will no doubt be trying to work with him to get him to manage his emotions better.
Alli may try, but as his comments show, he’s making no promises.
If Tottenham win this week away at Leipzig, expect Alli to be leading wild celebrations.
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