Former Tottenham striker Garth Crooks has admitted that he is concerned to see Serge Aurier making rash errors again after the right-back appeared to have removed the lapses in concentration from his game over recent weeks.
Almost no one would have expected Aurier to play as many games as he has in the Premier League this season following the arrival of Matt Doherty from Wolves in the summer.
However, the Ivorian had essentially made himself undroppable for Premier League matches by putting in flawless displays over the past couple of months.
He hardly put a foot wrong defensively against the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal, games where the Tottenham backline came under considerable pressure at times.
Just when it seemed as if the 27-year-old was a player reborn, he made a stupid challenge against Leicester on Sunday to gift the away side a penalty on the cusp of half time.
Crooks was critical of the Ivorian and also admitted that Tottenham have to be winning games if they are going to set up as pragmatically as they have been under Jose Mourinho.
In his column for BBC Sport, the pundit wrote: “Just when you thought Serge Aurier had removed that erratic behaviour from his game, he panics and gives away a penalty.
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“Barging into attackers on the edge of his own area is the game of fools. Aurier has been outstanding recently and to see the defender slip back into old habits is very concerning.
“Come to think of it, watching Spurs revert to everything I hate about a Jose Mourinho team was simply awful. If Spurs have to play like that then winning is essential.”
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Aurier’s poor mistake on Sunday should not take away from the quality of performances he has been putting in over the last couple of months. The Ivorian should try to put the mistake behind him and bounce back quickly. However, one suspects that Mourinho might have seen enough and is now likely to give Doherty a run in the side.
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