Wayne Rooney has criticised the Tottenham Hotspur squad amid their continuing spell of poor results that has left the club facing the threat of relegation from the Premier League. Spurs are presently in 16th position in the top-flight table and merely one point above the relegation zone with nine fixtures remaining.
Spurs have suffered 14 defeats from their 29 Premier League matches this season, and subsequently parted company with Thomas Frank last month before installing Igor Tudor as his successor. Tudor was brought in on a caretaker basis until the end of the campaign, but has bsuffered defeat in all four matches during his time in charge, including three in the top flight and one in the Champions League.
The latest setback was the 5-2 thrashing at the hands of Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday evening, which came after a 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace in the Premier League several days prior.
That sequence of results has prompted increased speculation regarding Tudor’s future at Tottenham, with numerous candidates being touted as potential successors, including former Everton and Nottingham Forest manager Sean Dyche.
Tottenham return to top-flight action this weekend, where they will take on Liverpool at Anfield. Prior to the fixture, Rooney has criticised the Spurs squad for their attitude in matches.
“The players need to look at themselves, because I think they’ve been an absolute disgrace,” Rooney said on the Stick to Football podcast.
“The performances, the attitude, the lack of desire, the lack of fight, the lack of anything in them.
“I was watching the Crystal Palace game, and I said it last week, I really felt sorry for Tottenham fans. I’m looking at Tottenham fans, and they’re sat there and they’re not even angry anymore, they’re just disappointed and sad.”
Tudor’s future has been the subject of speculation in recent weeks, despite only accepting the position at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last month on an interim basis until the end of the season.
Despite the rumours, Tudor is still expected to be in the dugout for Tottenham’s journey to Merseyside on Sunday to take on Liverpool, with the 47-year-old addressing the media in a pre-match press conference on Friday.
Following that, Tottenham will meet Atletico Madrid in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, where they will need to overturn a three-goal deficit in order to advance to the quarter-final.