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Tottenham need ‘rebuild in every department’ – but they won’t spend the money, says Glenn Hoddle

Glenn Hoddle says Tottenham need a total overhaul of the squad to return to challenging for the trophies but believes the club will not spend the money this summer in the wake of the Covid pandemic.

Spurs yesterday went down 1-0 to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup at Wembley in a fourth consecutive final defeat, extending their frustrating 13-year wait for silverware.

Afterwards, interim head coach Ryan Mason admitted the club are “four or five years” behind City, who clinched a record-equalling fourth consecutive League Cup thanks to Aymeric Laporte’s 82nd-minute header.

Spurs are set to appoint a permanent successor to Jose Mourinho at the end of the season, but Hoddle believes the squad is packed with “average” players and “just not good enough” for the Champions League, regardless of who is in the dugout.

Asked what Spurs need to do to return to challenging for silverware, Hoddle told Standard Sport: “I think they need a real revamp, a rebuild in every department of the pitch. And it does not matter who the manager is, they are going to need to spend money.

“They have got a fabulous stadium and training ground, but have they got the intent after a pandemic and losing so much? I cannot see it.

“There has got to be a reconstruction of the squad. I hear ‘Tottenham have a great squad’, but I do not get that. They have got a couple of great players, but the squad is nowhere near deep enough and there are players there who are just not good enough if you want to get into the Champions League.

“No disrespect, there are players there who are average Premier League players. There is an age problem at the back in the next season or two, the midfield needs some sort of spark and they have to hold on to Harry Kane and Heung-min Son.”

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy has forecast an “irrecoverable loss” of £150million due to the absence of crowds this season, while they have more debt than any other club in Europe after completing their £1.2billion stadium.

“Whether they are going to spend the money to do that, I do not think they will,” added Hoddle, a former Spurs player and Levy’s first managerial appointment. “Tottenham are at a bit of a crossroads now.

“I do not think Jose should have been sacked. Every manager needs time and it is not the Spurs squad that people think.

“People talk about how poorly Jose did at Manchester United and I laugh because he came runners-up in the Premier League and won two trophies. Now any Spurs fan would have settled for that when he arrived.”

Mason admitted there was a lot of “pain” in the Spurs dressing room after a one-sided final in front of nearly 8,000 spectators — the biggest crowd in the country since the start of the pandemic.

Son was in tears at full-time, while Eric Dier struggled to contain his emotions on the touchline after a post-match interview.

“It has to drive you on,” said Dier. “I am not going to lie, this one is very tough, because seven years and to not have a trophy hurts me deeply.”

Source: Standard.co.uk

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