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Tottenham‘s weary stars were called out for ‘hiding’ by Jermain Defoe in a clinical debrief after Aston Villa dumped them out of the FA Cup.
Defoe urged the players to take responsibility for their malaise while Dion Dublin hit out at one key man for lacking convinction in front of goal.
Spurs slumped to a fourth defeat in their last six domestic games after goals from Jacob Ramsey and Morgan Rogers, with Mathys Tel’s late consolation not enough to save the day.
It means they have suffered a double whammy of cup exits after Liverpool shoved them out of the Carabao Cup on Thursday night with a 4-0 Anfield hammering.
‘When you’re in this situation there’s no options. They’re not backing themselves. We used to call it hiding. Son (Heung-min) is, at the moment, going through that phase. There was a shot to be had from eight yards out and he passed it,’ Dublin told the BBC.
‘Son’s confidence just is not right, he’s choosing the wrong finish.
Pundits called out Tottenham’s stars for ‘hiding’ during their 2-1 FA Cup defeat by Aston Villa
Both Dion Dublin and Jermain Defoe picked up on Son Heung-min’s lack of confidence
Ange Postecoglou watched as his side crashed out of a second domestic cup in four days
Dublin (left) and Defoe (right) crashed down hard on Tottenham’s stars after the defeat
Defoe chimed in: ‘I couldn’t believe it when he didn’t shoot. At times you do hide. Sometimes it’s about going back to basics. You stick together as a group. It’s important they regroup.
‘There’s been a lot of noise around Tottenham, the chairman, the manager. The players have to take responsibility. You look at the infrastructure. It’s a difficult time.
‘Everyone keeps saying about the injuries, the players that would start. Once he gets those players back and try and finish the strong it will make a difference.’
The incident Dublin and Defo were referring to came in the second half when Son, presented with a chance to shoot, passed to Yves Bissouma who was in a worse position.
Joe Hart added: ‘It’s a complete collective, all of them working together. He’s well established at Tottenham. The debriefs are so key. There’s so much that’s going on and that’s when the work comes in.
‘They’re not playing the same football that they’re practising.
‘Everyone’s accepted Tottenham will be a team that plays. To play proper possession football you have to have options.
‘You need everyone on the same page, however that works and whatever it looks like. It’s not a good recipe and it needs addressing.’