Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has been jokingly told to warm his players up earlier following another dreadful start on Boxing Day.
This has been suggested by former Spurs manager Harry Redknapp, who was speaking on TalkSport amid the return of Premier League football.
Spurs were forced to settle for a point in their Boxing Day clash away to Brentford, with goals from Harry Kane and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg securing Conte’s men a valuable point.
However, the main talking point coming away from the game was another slow start from Spurs, which saw them go two goals behind to Thomas Frank’s Bees.
And with this becoming a bit of a habit for the Lilywhites, Redknapp has suggested the Spurs players need to begin warming up earlier than they do as they are clearly not ready for the intense starts in Premier League games.
He said: “Maybe he’ll try something different. Maybe he’ll take them out on the training pitch or in the gymnasium for about 40 minutes before the start of the game and let them think it’s the second half starting.
“I don’t know what he can do. He’s got to try something. It was a good comeback in the end and it was a good point for them.”
TIF Thoughts on Redknapp’s comments…
Although Redknapp’s comments were largely in jest, it is perhaps true that something must change for Spurs, as their starts in Premier League games are holding them back massively.
Will Conte be backed in January?
Yes
No
It is now nine consecutive games that Spurs have conceded the opening goal. During this time, their form has certainly taken a downward spiral compared to earlier in the campaign.
If Spurs are hoping to close the gap between them and the likes of Manchester City, they simply cannot keep giving teams the early advantage.
With the January transfer window now just days away, it will be interesting to see how this recent form may affect Fabio Paratici’s plans for the winter window.