Antonio Conte claims he could rotate Tottenham Hotspur star Eric Dier after Brentford letdown
Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte would have been frustrated to see the manner in which Spurs conceded their two goals against Brentford on Boxing Day at the Gtech Community Stadium.
That would especially be the case for Ivan Toney’s strike. The England international scored from a corner kick in the 54th minute of the game to put his team 2-0 up on the day after Vitaly Janelt’s first-half goal.
The corner resulted from a horribly miscued clearance from Eric Dier under absolutely no pressure while making a clearance. This immediately reduced Spurs’ chances of winning the game by a long margin.
Although they did scale back the deficit after goals from Harry Kane and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, the third goal never came. Dier is one of our trusted players under Conte.
The Italian tactician picks him at the heart of his defence whenever he is fit and available but while Dier had a good few months, he has been prone to errors. After the draw against the Bees, Tam McManus, the former Hibernian striker, boldly asked Spurs to drop Dier from the team.
He doesn’t believe he has what it takes to be a regular starter for a UEFA Champions League club such as Spurs. When Conte was asked to give his opinions on Dier after the 2-2 draw, he said (h/t Football.London):
“You are a bit tired, but this is normal, especially if you want to play at a high level. Honestly I’m not worried because I know Eric’s capacity and what Eric can do with us.”
“It can be that you have a period where you have to recover mental or physical energy but I am not worried. I have the other defenders that also give me the possibility to make rotations. If I see situations where I need to make rotations.”
More Tottenham Hotspur News:
- Lucas Moura ‘expects offers from England’ after leaving Tottenham Hotspur at the end of contract
- Antonio Conte told to drop Eric Dier from Tottenham Hotspur starting XI after Brentford draw
- Spurs News: Manchester United now want Tottenham Hotspur target Kim Min-jae
Beyond Dier, we have Japhet Tanganga and Davinson Sanchez – two centre-backs that have failed to capture our imagination and show that they are fit to be regular starters for us. Dier is okay for now, but the Lilywhites must add a world-class leader in their backline as soon as possible.
