AVB: WHL negativity affected Tottenham players

Andre Villas-Boas felt the Spurs fans had created a negative atmosphere which had affected his players.

It took 81 minutes for Tottenham to break down Hull City through a controversial penalty decision, but Spurs fans will be split over AVB’s comments about the support from the WHL crowd.

He told the press: “It was very difficult to get in to situations where we could create danger,”

“Hull came with one objective which was to prevent us scoring the first goal. We tried hard and were persistent, it was different to the game against West Ham, we kept our cool today.

“We played in a very difficult atmosphere, very tense, very negative and we looked like the away team but we kept our cool.

“We had to dig deep within ourselves because we weren’t getting help from anybody, the stadium reflected this atmosphere, very tense and without a lot of support until the first goal.”

He insisted he was not trying to criticise the club’s support, but suggested the negativity played into Hull’s hands.

“I’m particularly happy with the way the players fought hard against that anxiety and kept their cool to take the three points,” he said.

“I’m extremely happy with the crowd normally, fans for me represent the essence of football. The away support has been immense.

“Sometimes at home it is difficult and it looks like it drags the ball in to our goal rather than our opponent’s goal.

“I don’t intend with this message to send them a warning, neither do I intend to hurt their feelings but this is something that is felt within the group. It is a feeling that invades us in fixtures like this.

“You need that help. We are great believers in emotion and motivation and that is always decisive when you play at home.”

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