Cristian Stellini admits his defensive gamble was a ‘mistake’ in Tottenham’s 6-1 defeat to Newcastle
‘The WORST 25 minutes I’ve ever seen’: Cristian Stellini bemoans Spurs’ embarrassing first-half capitulation against Newcastle, conceding five times in the first fifteen minutes…while admitting his tactical switch was a ‘wrong’ was’
- Tottenham suffered a humiliating 6-1 defeat to Newcastle on Sunday afternoon
- The Spurs trailed 5–0 in 21 minutes as they struggled in a different formation
- Interim boss Cristian Stellini admitted his defensive gamble was a “mistake”.
Spurs boss Cristian Stellini lamented the “worst 25 minutes I’ve ever seen” as Tottenham embarrassingly capitulated at Newcastle.
After conceding five goals in the first 21 minutes, Stellini refused to blame his hapless players, claiming he was at fault for a formation change.
“There are no words to explain such a performance. The first 25 minutes were possibly the worst I’ve ever seen,” he said.
Just 36 days after Antonio Conte berated Spurs players for their mentality in his outburst following their 3-3 draw at Southampton, interim boss Stellini said the blame for this humiliation lay on him for a failed back-four experiment.
“The system we changed to give energy and mood was the wrong decision. If so, that’s my responsibility. We changed the system, we played with four in the back and if it’s a mistake it’s my fault,” Stellini added.
Tottenham suffered a humiliating 6-1 defeat to Newcastle at St James’ Park
Interim boss Cristian Stellini has admitted his gamble to play with four in the back was ‘wrong’
“We have to apologize to everyone and it’s my responsibility because changing the system was my decision.”
Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher questioned his decision to play a back four, with Stellini revealing that Spurs had trained with the system in the week following their defeat to Bournemouth.
“How did they go to a back-four for the first time this season, with Porro being a full back who can’t defend and Perisic being a winger? Get a good manager, not Antonio Conte’s mate,” Carragher said.
Stellini refused to answer when asked if he was concerned about his position and insisted he wanted to keep in charge for the rest of the season.
“This is a question I don’t have an answer to. It’s not a question for me,” he said.
Trailing Spurs by five goals at half-time, Stellini also said he asked the players to “play the second half to save face for the team.”
Eddie Howe insisted that whatever Spurs’ formation, Newcastle’s ruthless start was exactly the kind of approach he wanted from his side.
Tottenham conceded five goals in the first 21 minutes before changing their line-ups
‘I don’t think it’s formation dependent. We want to start such games, especially at home. It’s easier said than done. The first goal changes everything.
“It was an exciting atmosphere and an exciting performance from us. We were clinically in front of goal and in that early phase everything went according to plan,” said the Toon boss.
With his side now six points clear of Spurs in fifth, with a game in hand, Howe (left) again refused to talk about the prospect of a return to Champions League football.
“I would encourage the players to think like that (that they belong to the elite). We need that trust. “We want the players to play games, believing that we are a superior team,” Howe said.