Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness has blasted Tottenham’s decision to travel back down to north London after their midweek Champions League tie against Manchester City before returning to the north west for their Premier League clash.
The Lilywhites were defeated 4-3 in Manchester on Wednesday but came out on top through away goals, securing a two legged tie against Ajax in the semi finals, and returned back to the reigning top flight champions for their third match against Pep Guardiola’s men in a matter of weeks.
However, Souness was highly critical of the decision which saw Spurs head back to London three days before playing City again.
Speaking on Sky Sports‘ coverage of the clash at the Etihad Stadium, he said: “I think you try to eliminate the travel as much as possible. Then you look at the downside to that, players do find it difficult to sleep in different beds with different pillows, different environment, eating different food for three days.
“I just think those boys getting to bed at four in the morning, they could have been in bed by midnight and a few days later that might just take its toll on them. I’d have liked to have taken the travel out of it.”
Opinion
Yes, travelling to and from Manchester is a bit of a chore but Souness is speaking like the north west is like a foreign country in comparison to north London. You can be sure the players would not mind sleeping in a hotel for a couple of nights if it meant they could remain well rested and avoid the stress of heading up and down the country but if Mauricio Pochettino wants to give his players a return home, then why not? It means they get to see their families, friends and a return to a familiar environment, not to mention the chance to celebrate after such an important victory in midweek. There is going to be a trip over to the Netherlands for their Champions League clash with Ajax in a couple of weeks and maybe Spurs want to make the most of the time they have in north London.