Darren Bent has issued a warning to his former club that training at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium stadium will not prepare their players for the restart of the Premier League. (Football Insider)
Spurs are just one of a number of Premier League sides which have played 11 v 11 training sessions at their home ground in preparation for the return to football on June 17. (THFC)
However, the former Spurs striker believes that despite clubs going to such lengths, it will not compare to when two top flight sides lock horns.
“Listen, it’s going to be really strange. It’s going to be alien to them, it’s going to be difficult but when you play behind closed doors, among yourselves, people will still go through the motions,” Bent told Football Insider.
“I’ve had it before when you play against the youth teams or the reserves, you still go through the motions because you know there’s not really a lot riding on it.
“I get it, I understand it, replicating playing at the stadium behind closed doors but it’s still going to completely different. When it comes to game time and you come up against actual opposition, it’s completely different,” he added.
Bent joined Spurs in 2007 from Charlton Athletic and in his two years at the Lilywhites, he only managed to net 18 times in his 60 Premier League appearances. (Premier League)
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“Listen, I commend them, I commend a lot of the people who are training in their stadiums trying to get used to playing with no fans in but honestly, when you get out there and play against actual opposition it’s completely different,” said Bent.
Spurs currently lie in eighth position with a seven-point gap to fourth-placed Chelsea.(Premier League)
With only nine games left of the 2019/20 season, Spurs restart their campaign with a crunch game against Manchester United who are also fighting for a Champions League spot.
Spurs Web Opinion
Of course, a training game against your own teammates is not going to be the same as a Premier League clash. However, considering there are still two weeks until the resumption of the league I think it is a good idea to get the players used to the setting of the stadium again. Perhaps, in the weeks to come, we may see Spurs play a friendly as Arsenal did on Saturday against Charlton Athletic.
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