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Cristian Romero criticises Tottenham board for lack of investment
Defender calls on club to stop holding players and managers responsible while spending lags behind rivals
Tottenham Hotspur defender Cristian Romero appears to have criticised the club’s board for a lack of investment in the squad.
Romero, in an interview with Telemundo Deportes after Sunday’s defeat by Chelsea, said the club must imitate the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea by “strengthening” their first team.
Spurs have won only one of their last seven matches in all competitions, with pressure now mounting on Ange Postecoglou. The head coach retains internal support at the club despite growing discontent among the club’s supporters.
“Manchester City competes every year, you see how Liverpool strengthens its squad, Chelsea strengthens their squad, doesn’t do well, strengthens again, and now they’re seeing results. Those are the things to imitate,” said Romero. “You have to realise that something is going wrong, hopefully, they [the board] realise it.
“The last few years, it’s always the same – first the players, then the coaching staff changes, and it’s always the same people responsible.
“Hopefully they realise who the true responsible ones are and we move forward because it’s a beautiful club that, with the structure it has, could easily be competing for the title every year.”
Romero is believed to have given the interview live on Spanish television after the Chelsea match, with an article then posted on the website of Telemundo Deportes. That article is no longer online, though.
The Argentine also insisted that he and his team-mates are happy under Postecoglou, saying that the players “love” how the current coaching staff are working.
“We saw it in the first season [under Postecoglou]. In this second one we’ve suffered a lot of injuries,” Romero said. “Players are the first ones to be criticised, then if we lose 10 games, the staff can be changed, but nobody talks about what is actually happening.
“We are very happy with this staff, me and my colleagues. We love how they work and the football they try to play.”
Spurs are currently 11th in the Premier League ahead of their trip to face Southampton on Sunday. Before that, on Thursday, they travel to Scotland to face Rangers in the Europa League.