Sherwood climbs into Spurs players

Published Mar 13, 2014

Share

Four days after laying into his under-achieving players, Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood was in no mood for backing down.

Rather than trying to paper over the cracks following the 4-0 humbling at Chelsea, Sherwood was again in confrontational mood as he contemplated tonight’s Europa League first leg clash against Portuguese giants Benfica.

Sherwood insisted the club should prepare themselves for yet another squad overhaul this summer — an attitude that brought a rebuke from Spurs legend Gary Lineker via Twitter

Sherwood said: ‘A lot of players here are playing for their future and I think they realise that now. I’m going to have a good look at the whole squad and see who I need to keep and who I need to bring in.

‘They have that chance between now and the end of the season to prove they want to play for a giant club like Tottenham.

‘There will be changes, without a doubt. I want players here who want to play for the club and they have between now and the end of the season to show that they are playing for their club and not for themselves.

‘I don’t think at any football club a player should think they are doing them a favour by playing for them.

‘At any club you see players who think they have outgrown the club and that can never be the case. Players owe the supporters to perform 100 per cent for the shirt.

‘It’s not just this club, it’s every club, it annoys me when I see those players.’

The previous two summers have seen the club sign a total of 15 senior players, while 20 have left White Hart Lane.

Lineker responded to Sherwood’s latest outburst by tweeting: ‘Fascinating, honest, but ultimately I feel unwise condemnation of his own players by Tim Sherwood.

‘Private always the best way. There is no quicker way to lose the confidence and trust of your players than to slag them off publicly.’

Despite Lineker’s comments, it does not sound like Sherwood is ready to bite his tongue any time soon.

‘The players know how I am and how I felt about what happened at Chelsea,’ he added. ‘We are moving on, you can’t dwell on it.

‘They are all men, they all appreciate that I am saying it from the heart, not from the script — I’m not an actor, I work on impulse.

‘I’m never going to take a step back. I’m just going to shoot from the hip. That’s what I’m like. I’m a manager, not a babysitter.’

Sherwood revealed he has held talks with chairman Daniel Levy this week.

He added: ‘There was no sit-down meeting, nothing more than what I normally do. I’ve seen him a few times.

‘I’m planning for next season. There’s no point me planning if someone else is coming in. I’ve not asked for any assurances. I’ve an 18-month contract and I expect to be here a lot longer than that.’

Spurs midfielder Sandro revealed that the players held a no-holds- barred two-hour meeting after Saturday’s crushing 4-0 loss to Chelsea.

‘We spent more than two hours in a meeting among the players and we said what we had to say,’ said Sandro.

‘From now on we know that we all have to listen when anyone says something.

‘It happened post match, after the manager’s conference with the press. Sometimes players got a bit more stressed out than others and we tried to calm them down and talk in a nice way.

‘I feel like we needed an honest moment like that. It helped a lot because now I can go and tell another player, and another player can tell me. The manager likes it.

‘Everyone can go for it now and I think it will help. Every player had their fair share to say, let’s put it that way.

‘Sometimes when you lose games in that way, everyone gets cross and we all scream and shout. We have to improve and do our best to get things better.’

Sherwood insisted he would not write off any of his current players yet. ‘Everyone gets a second chance,’ he said. ‘I am never ever going to burn bridges with players. They are assets to the football club.

‘They have an opportunity to respond. It’s out there now; they know what’s required. It’s not about going 1-0 up and then going and playing well, it’s about in adversity, who wants to roll their sleeves up?

‘It’s a level playing field from the kids to the money signings. No one is going to get preferential treatment just because of a price tag.

‘It’s about what they are doing on the pitch. I am seeing them every day. I know the DNA of the guys, and I know the ones I can trust and the ones I can’t.’

A positive result against Benfica tonight will go some way to satisfying Sherwood. – Daily Mail

Related Topics: