Former Scotland striker Ally McCoist has singled out four players who he feels are not good enough for the top level and needs to be replaced.
Spurs were knocked out of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, losing 2-0 to Nottingham Forest. Conte named nearly the same starting lineup that lost 2-1 to Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday.
McCoist believes Conte’s defence is the most vulnerable singling out Eric Dier, Davinson Sanchez, and Clement Lenglet, as well as Hugo Lloris, as liabilities for the Italian. He said on TalkSPORT:
“I just don’t think they’re good enough defensively, I really don’t think they’re good enough defensively.
“Aye [Dier’s got a mistake in him], even Sanchez last night, Lenglet. I just don’t. I think that they’re alright defensively but to compete at the very, very top level…
“I think the goalkeeper makes excellent saves but I think there’s a clanger in him as well, I really do. I think he makes excellent saves but I think there’s a clanger in him.”
Conte started with Harry Kane who has played every single game for Spurs this season. And his decision to include him in the starting XI was criticised. However, McCoise defended the manager suggesting that had he not started Kane, he would have still been criticised for not respecting the competition. He said:
“If Nottingham Forest had played that game 2-0 and Harry Kane hadn’t played, we’d have all been saying ‘he’s not treating the tournament with respect, he should have played Harry Kane because it’s an opportunity to win a tournament’.
“So he’s played a strong team, so they’ve got nowhere to go Spurs, absolutely nowhere to go.”
Antonio Conte blamed the congested fixtures schedule for the fatigued performance by his team which resulted in them getting knocked out of the competition.
“For sure, there is big disappointment for the result, the loss.
“The positive thing tonight was to see Richarlison again and Deki [Dejan Kulusevski]. I think they are ready for the game on Saturday against Leeds. This is good news for us.
“It’s very difficult to say something wrong, because the commitment was high, but we are at our 12th game (since 1 October) and, honestly, some players are really tired in this moment.”
Getting knocked out from a domestic competition that too against Nottingham Forest is a huge upset since Antonio Conte was being backed to deliver Spurs a trophy this season.
