Two years ago Carragher blasted Tottenham star Eric Dier for lacking basic defending skills, any change?

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Two years on Tottenham Hotspur ace Eric Dier has not improved defensively.

Two years ago Tottenham Hotspur suffered a 3-0 loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford, one of their worst performances under Mauricio Pochettino.

One of the culprits for their poor display was Eric Dier, who was playing at centre-back alongside Jan Vertonghen.

A look at their midfield: Andros Townsend, Ryan Mason, Nabil Bentaleb and Nacer Chadli – all now departed, also was a big part of the defeat, but it was Dier who was singled out by pundit Jamie Carragher for his poor display.

Speaking to SkySports, Carragher blasted Dier, commenting: “His positioning caused them major problems. I don’t think it was that difficult to fix.

“Young Eric Dier, still learning the position, if his positioning would have been better, he would not have affected too many people around him.

“When playing centre-back its about trying to read the game. If Eric Dier is in that pocket (of space), he (Fellaini) won’t run. It was basic back four play.”

Carragher’s reference to Dier as ‘young’ indicated he could be excused for his errors, in his first season at Tottenham.

Last season Dier it could be argued stepped up from a boy to a man in football terms, earning senior England caps and going onto star and score at Euro 2016.

The difference was he was playing in midfield, settling into a role he felt comfortable in, but this proved to be short lived with Tottenham’s summer signing of Victor Wanyama shifting him out.

This season Dier has resumed a role as a fill in centre-back, playing when either one of Belgian duo Toby Alderweireld or Jan Vertonghen have been unavailable.

In big games he has been exposed, struggling against both Gent and Monaco in European competition, and Liverpool in the Premier League.

Carragher’s 2015 comments were quite cutting, but this season Dier has continued to show that he is far from the finished product at centre-back.

Regular game time in the position to further learn his craft there could help solve it, but Tottenham fans would surely prefer his learning takes place on the training pitch than experiment in match situations.