Louis Saha believes his old club Tottenham Hotspur need to tweak their mentality if they are to avoid a third straight season of struggle.
Spurs have massively under-performed domestically in recent seasons, as showcased by back-to-back 17th-placed finishes in the Premier League.
They started this campaign dreadfully too, before an upturn in form where they took 10 points out of a possible 12 prior to a narrow loss to Leeds United just before the international break.
Saha, who spent the second half of the 2011-12 campaign at Spurs, was discussing Roberto De Zerbi’s side when he was told about a startling stat – Tottenham haven’t won a Premier League game in 39 attempts after conceding first.
Asked if that is down to the tactics employed or the players’ mentality, the Frenchman responded: “I think it’s a mixture of both.
“I think there is an expectation, not only from the fans, but [because of] the kind of stature this club has. Always a lot of potential, a lot of top players, and they play attractive football most of the time, but they lack something. Sometimes it’s about the aggressiveness, about the scrappy [moments] that they need at some point. All that won’t be answered [easily], because I think De Zerbi is working every day, every minute to find that.
“I’m sure that he came in with that same problem. People told him about it. He hasn’t found a way (yet). So I do think it’s a difficult question to answer, but they definitely have the players, they have the facilities, they have the support of great fans. So I do think it’s just a matter of confidence.
“At some point – remember maybe Spain or France, when they hadn’t won any competition internationally and they needed one – I think there are those moments where a season needs to be consistent, where they need to show that they are able to switch, like maybe Arsenal did last year, with a kind of scrappy game that’s not super beautiful to watch. Some days, they were praising the defence more than the attack – not like Arsenal at all. So maybe there is a change that Tottenham need to make. Some of it is within the game, and sometimes it’s within the mentality.”
Despite Spurs’ aforementioned struggles and poor league finishes in recent times, Saha maintains they are still one of the “big” clubs in England.
“It is (still) a top side, because they have enormous capacity in terms of the transfer market.
“They’ve made some great transfers. They have built a big squad, where they’d been blamed for many years for not doing that. So I think they’ve done it, and they have a big stadium. They have reached a few finals, whether the Champions League or cups, and I think they have a great game, so at some moments they are a brilliant side to watch. So I do think that it’s sad, and I felt it when I played at that club. They want it so badly – maybe that’s the problem, that they’re chasing it so much. So I don’t think they need to worry about their status.
“They would have been really damaged if they were in the Championship this year. That’s not the case, and I think they have to rebuild. Sometimes it takes more than a year to do that. So hopefully this transition will do them good, and next year things are going to be more stable and better.”
*Louis Saha was speaking to FootballPredictions.com
