“I’m old school” – Pundit admits he does not approve of Spurs midfielder’s comments

Former Coventry City striker Noel Whelan has admitted that he was not a fan of Harry Winks speaking publicly about his concerns over a lack of game time at Tottenham.

Winks has fallen down the pecking order at Spurs this season, with most of his minutes over the last month coming in the Europa League.

The 24-year-old played a part in all three of England’s fixtures during the last international break, partly due to the injuries that Gareth Southgate was dealing with in the central midfield areas.

Winks told Sky Sports last week that he needs to be playing games regularly at Spurs if he is to have a chance at being a starter for the Three Lions in the Euros next summer.

Whelan believes that is a conversation that the Tottenham midfielder should have had in private with Jose Mourinho rather than airing out his concerns publicly.

He also suggested that Winks’ place in the England squad was secure and the Tottenham boss’ selection decisions cannot be questioned given how well the team was performing at the moment.

The pundit told Football Insider: “I think there’s a right way of doing things, I’m old school.

“I do think it should sometimes be, you know, with a manager, sitting down, talking, finding out where you belong in the pecking order, how important you are to the football club and the manager’s plans, before you come out publicly and say anything.

“Harry is still a very good international player, we saw it the other night when he came on, he is still very much in Gareth Southgate’s plans.

“Can you afford to leave out a player of international quality? It’s difficult because they’ve got a lot of players in that position and Jose Mourinho, you can’t really argue right now when they’re sitting second.”

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