Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho tore into the club’s most expensive ever signing Tanguy Ndombele, claiming he was ‘hiding’ in a torrid first half.
Spurs failed to get to grips with the game in a woeful first half, with their midfield duo of Ndombele and Oliver Skipp frequently being overrun by their Burnley counterparts.
The Clarets amassed a whopping 14 shots in the first 45 minutes, leading to Mourinho substituting the duo at half-time, at which point Tottenham’s performance improved immeasurably.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Mourinho was quizzed on the reasoning behind the double switch.
“The quality of Lucas Moura and Giovani Lo Celso (the two oncoming players) made a difference in the second half,” Mourinho said.
“I want to say but cannot say. We had something in the first half, not in the second.
“In the second we improved a lot. I think fatigue, Lucas and Lo Celso, Alli and Bergwijn had fatigue – they gave what you saw.
“I was expecting players not tired to give more to the team. Somebody has to realise this is the Premier League. It’s a new experience, a first time at Burnley. Hopefully next season he (Ndombele) can be fantastic.”
FULL MATCH REPORT: Alli calm from the spot as Tottenham and Burnley play out feisty 1-1 draw
“I must work to try to improve the team, but coaches need players to cooperate in that work on their evolution and development.”
Mourinho spoke of his midfielders being “hidden” at times during the first half, a situation that often led to Spurs’ attempts to counter quickly breaking down.
When pressed one final time on the performance of Ndombele after stressing his desire not to criticise the youngster Skipp, Mourinho said: “I hope he uses every minute on the pitch and every minute knowing what the Premier League is to improve.
“Many fantastic players in their first season in a new country for different reasons they struggle. There have been many examples of that. He’s a player with great talent.
“He has to know he has to do much better and know I cannot keep giving him opportunities to play because the team is much more important.”
Spurs goalscorer Dele Alli stepped up in Harry Kane and Son Heung-min’s absence to slot away their equaliser from the spot.
He told Sky Sports: “There was a lot of aggression at half-time, we knew we were not good enough. If you switch off for a second they can punish you. Going in at half time 1-0 down, it was a sticky changing room to be. But we did better and created enough opportunities to win.
“When you are part of a team like this you want to be playing in any position and give 100%. They were probably a bit stronger than me on the ball but I wanted to help the team as much as I could.”
On his 50 Premier League goals: “It’s a great achievement, but I’d swap the 50 for three points. It’s disappointing, it’s two points dropped.”
On taking penalty against England team mate Nick Pope: “I don’t want to give it away but I knew it was going the other way, the amount of times I’ve scored penalties against him in training I knew I’d go the other way!”
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