Glenn Hoddle has blasted Serge Aurier after reports emerged that the defender had left the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at half-time during Spurs’ 3-1 defeat to Liverpool last week.
Aurier was one of a number of Tottenham players who put in a poor first-half display against the Reds and the Ivorian was taken off by Jose Mourinho at half-time.
The Telegraph revealed that the right-back did not react too kindly to being withdrawn and decided to leave the stadium at the interval.
The 28-year-old was subsequently dropped from Tottenham’s matchday squad for their clash against Brighton on Sunday, with Mourinho starting with Moussa Sissoko at right-wing-back and leaving Matt Doherty on the bench.
After the game, the Spurs boss insisted that it was a technical decision to drop Aurier and stated that he was pleased with Sissoko’s performance.
Hoddle questioned Aurier’s character and insisted that his decision to leave in the middle of a big match will not have gone down well with the Tottenham boss.
The legendary Spurs midfielder said on The Glenn Hoddle Footy Show (as relayed by Tribal Football): “The problem is it’s a massive headache for the manager. Managers don’t want to be dealing with all that. You have to be together. A house divided is always going to fall.
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“Aurier is totally out of order – it’s as simple as that. Nobody wants that in the dressing room. Obviously you want a bit of passion… you want that. Even if you have a punch-up, or verbally, in the dressing room that can actually be good. Once you heal that, you actually come closer together in a strange way if everyone takes it in the right manner.
“You’re a team. A club and a team. You can only do something in football if you’re a team. The team is everything.
“In the end, he’s broken that law. You don’t get in your car and drive away when your teammates are still fighting for their lives to get points against Liverpool. That says a lot about a player.
“I’m sorry, but at the end of the day, if that’s the attitude a player has – and I’m not saying Aurier, it’s happened at other clubs – you’re carrying them.
“They’re not strong enough characters and in the end they’ll let you down. I think that’s how the manager will look at it.”
Spurs Web Opinion
The fact that Aurier did not even make the matchday squad against Brighton was confirmation that something had indeed gone on at half-time against Liverpool. We will have to wait and see if he will be handed a second chance by Mourinho against Chelsea.
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