‘Not good enough’ – Robbie Keane explains what needs to change at Spurs

Former Tottenham Hotspur striker Robbie Keane added his voice to the growing list of names to criticise the manner in which the North London club perform in the first half of games this season.

This comes in light of Spurs falling to a 2-1 defeat at home to Liverpool yesterday evening, with two goals from Mohamed Salah in the first half proving too much of a mountain for the Lilywhites to climb in the second half.

Spurs did manage to pull one goal back through Harry Kane, his 12th goal of the season so far (Transfermarkt). Despite dominating the second half and registering 14 shots on goal throughout the game (BBC Sport), Spurs could not find the all-important equaliser.

A lot has been said of Spurs’ seeming inability to get going in the first half of games of late, and Antonio Conte’s men have now fallen two goals behind in their last four Premier League games.

For former Spurs and Liverpool striker Robbie Keane, speaking to Optus Sport, this worrying pattern needs to change if Tottenham are to challenge at the top.

Keane said: “They’re very slow starters, that needs to change, especially if you’re going to be a top team.

On the revelation that Spurs have conceded a two-goal head start in their last four league games, Keane added: “I didn’t know that stat, but that’s not good enough. If you want to finish in the top four or be chasing trophies, that has to change.

“You could see the fans were on their case a little bit, especially in the first half, when the balls were going back constantly. Emerson (Royal) was guilty of doing that quite a lot and you could see the fans really torn. They need to really change that first-half performance.

Spurs Web Opinion

This whole issue with how slow Spurs are in the first half of games before fighting back in the second must be an intentional plan from Conte at this stage; it’s happening far too often for it not to be. When it works, it’s just about tolerable, but when it fails like yesterday, it’s painful to watch.

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