Jamie O’Hara has named five “shocking” players who he says failed in Tottenham’s defeat to Sunderland. Nordi Mukiele’s goal sealed victory for the Black Cats at the Stadium of Light on Sunday afternoon, dealing a blow to Roberto De Zerbi’s fight to retain Spurs’ Premier League status.
Tottenham missed an opportunity to escape the bottom three after West Ham’s win over Wolves on Friday night. The Hammers sit just two points above their London rivals in the relegation zone with six games remaining this season. Speaking on Sky Sports after the final whistle, O’Hara said De Zerbi could not “work miracles” and insisted Spurs players must take responsibility. The former Lilywhites midfielder said: ‘I’m really shocked.
“There was nothing of value in this game. Sunderland took control and created the chances.[Antonin]Kinski made some really good saves, but the goals conceded were terrible.”
O’Hara added: “That sums up Spurs this season. They did absolutely nothing, gave nothing. Non-existent performances all over the park. Conor Gallagher, shocking. (Randall) Kolo Muani, shocking. (Dominic) Solanke, shocking. Richarlison, shocking. (Destiny) Udogie, shocking.”
“You can’t have six players when you’re in a relegation battle! You have to fight and perform. Once again it’s really bad. I can’t believe how bad this team is.”
“De Zerbi is a good manager, but he can’t perform miracles. The players have to deliver for him. It’s far from enough. The quality on the pitch is non-existent.”
“These players have strayed far from what they think of as footballers. I don’t see anything in this team that deserves to stay in the Premier League.”
“There’s nothing to say they can keep going. There’s not enough fight, quality and passion. For the majority of the match I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. These players are nowhere near that.”
Addressing the media at the Stadium of Light, De Zerbi gave his thoughts on the result. “It’s a shame because we didn’t deserve to lose the game. We played a good game. Maybe it wasn’t enough to win, but we were unlucky in some situations in the first half,” the Italian said.
“I can’t say anything to the players because they were doing their best attitude-wise and mentally. We can definitely play better and you’ll all feel better. We’ve got to work on it.”
“My work on the pitch is not that much because they are good players. I feel sorry for them. I want to give them the confidence they need. Tactically, we played well in the first half.”
“With the ball and without the ball. I’m not confident we’ll play great football, but we did what we’ve been working on this week. Confidence will help our players play better.”
De Zerbi said of how he plans to boost morale within the team: “I can be a big brother, a father. They don’t need a coach. They don’t need to improve their football. They can play better and if we reach another level of trust, they will play better.”
Looking ahead to the challenges ahead, he added: “Of course, if we can win the match, I’m sure everything will change.”
