Jermaine Jenas has come to the defence of Tottenham ace Kieran Trippier, claiming that the full-back has “dug in” this campaign.
The £65,000-a-week England defender [Spotrac] has suffered a torrid season for Spurs, far beneath his usual standard, but Jenas has tried to justify his poor performances ahead of the Champions League final next Saturday.
Citing the last time Spurs met Liverpool in a column for the Daily Mail, he said: “In the first half, Spurs played a back three as Kieran Trippier and Danny Rose ended up deep in a back five.
“That can’t happen again. Even if it’s a back four, they need to get high up the pitch and get in the faces of [Trent] Alexander-Arnold and [Andy] Robertson.
“I would have no worries about Rose. In the second half of the season, he’s been up there with Moussa Sissoko as Spurs’ best player. Trippier has had a lot of stick after his extraordinary World Cup. He didn’t have the best game in the first leg against Ajax and was at fault for one of the second-leg goals.
“But I’ve been there, when you’re playing injured. He could just tell the manager he’s not really fit and hide. But he’s not done that. Kieran has dug in all year, put himself out there even though his groin clearly isn’t right.”
OPINION
You can understand why Jenas is defending Trippier, but honestly, injury or no injury, his standards have been far too poor this season. The England defender was a national hero after his heroics in the World Cup, but truth be told, there is no place for wanton heroism if you are carrying a knock over the course of a season. Time and time again Trippier has looked like a liability for Spurs during the course of this campaign, and nine times out of 10 it is because he has been caught out of position. That is predominantly a matter of concentration rather than physical fitness, and you would hope that he doesn’t got to sleep in the biggest game of his side’s season. If Spurs lose because of a Tripper mistake, no amount of apologist punditry will make up for the disappointment of the fans. Trippier has the quality, he just needs to start showing it.