Graeme Souness criticised Steven Bergwijn for failing to track back and put in a defensive shift for the team during Tottenham’s 1-0 defeat to Brighton on Sunday.
The performance from Jose Mourinho’s men at the Amex was arguably their poorest of the season as Spurs struggled to create any clear-cut chances of note through the ninety minutes.
Brighton could have had the game wrapped up by half time but went in with just a 1-0 goal lead as they failed to take their chances.
The away side threw bodies forward in the second half but were unable to breakdown a stubborn Seagulls defence.
Graham Potter’s side arguably also had the best chance of the second 45 minutes as they put together a swift counter-attack which needed a last-ditch tackle on the line by Toby Alderweireld to keep Tottenham in the game.
Souness was critical of Bergwijn for jogging back during the move and not showing the required urgency to sprint back and help his team out.
The pundit said during Sky Sports’ post-match coverage on their Premier League TV channel (31/1/21): “The Liverpool game when Origi goes down injured late in the game.
MORE SPURS STORIES
“Salah’s sprinting back. Salah, who we all know is a greedy so-and-so. But one of the best out there.
“He’s sprinting back and heading the ball on his goalline near enough, for the cause.
“Why cannot Bergwijn do that? That’s the difference between proper players.”
Spurs Web Opinion
That is a very harsh assessment by Souness as Bergwijn has proven that he is more than willing to do his share of defensive work. He is always one of our hardest working players and I thought he was one of the few Spurs players at the Amex who was at least trying to make something happen.
Keep up to date with all the latest Tottenham news and opinion by following SpursWeb’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
