Pundit accuses Mourinho of ‘killing’ Spurs star’s confidence
Jamie O’Hara thinks Spurs boss Jose Mourinho is “killing” Dele Alli’s confidence after they beat Stoke 3-1 in the Carabao Cup.
Tottenham booked their place in the last four thanks to goals from Gareth Bale, Ben Davies and Harry Kane against the Championship club and they are now just two wins away from winning the competition.
They made life harder for themselves as Alli attempted a flick during a transition, gave the ball away and Stoke went on to equalise with their first shot of the match through Jordan Thompson.
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The 24-year-old was given a chance to prove himself to Mourinho, having found himself out in the cold in recent weeks, and that moment undid a promising first half.
He was substituted shortly after and Mourinho blamed him for the goal they conceded.
And O’Hara doesn’t like the way the Spurs boss has treated Alli during his time at the club.
Speaking on talkSPORT, O’Hara said: “I think Mourinho’s doing a great job but I don’t like the way he’s treating Dele Alli.
“What do you expect from the boy? You’re not playing him, he’s not been involved, he’s hardly getting on the bench never mind starting.
“Alright he made a mistake and they score but I don’t think he was really poor in the game; he works hard.
“I just think when you’re coming out and digging a player out in the press, he’s a young player, I think he needs to help him.
“What’s he gaining coming out in the press and digging out that single performance? It’s just killing his confidence more.
“He’s an investment for this club, he’s an asset to the club. Whether he’s in your plans or not you don’t want to kill his confidence much so that you totally lose him.
“He did alright, he made things happen. In that no.10 role you have to link up and make things happen but I don’t think that’s Dele Alli’s game. He’s a player who makes that run beyond and scores goals off the back of people.”