Spurs forward warns players to wake up or they will lose to Ajax

Tottenham went into the derby game against West Ham on Saturday full of confidence after a last-gasp win against Brighton last Tuesday with Mauricio Pochettino’s men looked to tighten their grip of the third spot with a win.

However, the hosts put in a lacklustre performance as the Hammers capitalised to become the first away team to score a goal and win a game at Tottenham’s new stadium.

Tottenham striker Fernando Llorente was asked if the loss could serve as a wake-up call for Spurs ahead of their crucial Champions League semi-final first leg against Ajax tomorrow, told The Guardian, “Maybe it’s better, no.”

However, the Spaniard warned that if the team delivered a similar performance on Tuesday, they will be comfortably beaten by the Dutch side who have already knocked out Real Madrid and Juventus with their exciting young team.

Llorente added: ” This kind of game [the semi-final] doesn’t need to be prepared for because the mentality of all the players will be different. But I don’t think I can understand why the mentality of the team wasn’t ready to play against West Ham.

“I don’t know [why] but I told you, if we play like that against Ajax then for sure we will lose.”

Spurs are likely to call on Llorente again due to a lack of attacking options with the player looking to build upon his winner against Manchester City in the last round.

Spurs Web’s verdict

It could be argued that the players perhaps inadvertently had half their mind on the game against Ajax and West Ham capitalised.

While all will be forgiven if Spurs register a win tomorrow but it will be difficult without the likes of Kane and Son available for selection.

It’s refreshing to see a player say in public what most Spurs fans were thinking after the lethargic loss at the weekend.

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