A key Tottenham Hotspur player has issued an apology to Spurs supporters following the heavy defeat at Newcastle United.
Tottenham delivered yet another lacklustre away performance yesterday as they fell to a 4-0 defeat at St James’ Park.
Spurs have won just once on the road since beating Nottingham Forest 2-0 back in December. During this period, they have suffered heavy defeats to Brighton, Fulham and Newcastle.
Despite having 72 per cent of the ball yesterday, it’s fair to say that Ange Postecoglou’s side were outclassed by the Magpies.
Newcastle created more opportunities in the game and Tottenham failed to build on a positive start after Timo Werner wasted two chances in front of goal.
The usually reliable Micky van de Ven also had a rare off-day, with the Dutchman left on the turf for two of Newcastle’s goals.
Postecoglou made three changes on the hour mark as he introduced Dejan Kulusevski, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Pape Matar Sarr. But it was much of the same from Spurs in the second half and they went on to concede another two.
And following a disappointing afternoon, one Tottenham star has apologised to supporters who travelled to St James’ Park.
James Maddison issues apology after Newcastle thrash Tottenham
Speaking to Spurs Play, Maddison admitted he was surprised to see some Tottenham supporters applauding the players following the defeat.
“We’re just as disappointed as any of them fans,” the Spurs star said. “We can only [hold our] hands up and apologise to the travelling fans today. Even at the end then, we went over and a load of them still clapped us after a performance like that. You don’t expect to be clapped when you go and applaud the fans.
“Thank you to them for sticking with us but I can only apologise they had to watch that scoreline today. We just weren’t good enough and we have to accept that, look in the mirror and know that we weren’t good enough. It wasn’t just a fluke, wasn’t just they got lucky goals.
“We weren’t good enough today, to a man, so we need to have a stern talking to ourselves to pick ourselves up because we can have a period of mourning, if you like, over it but you’ve got to quickly switch on and look at where you went wrong and go again because the Premier League comes thick and fast and we’ve got a big game next.”
Maddison stats vs Newcastle
Tottenham remain in a fairly strong position when it comes to securing a top-four finish.
Aston Villa travel to Arsenal today and currently sit above the north Londoners on goal difference.
But Maddison’s recent form will be a concern for Spurs as the Englishman is yet to hit the heights he managed earlier this season.
The Englishman recently admitted he hasn’t rediscovered his best form since returning from an ankle injury in January.
Maddison cut a frustrated figure once again yesterday but based on the statistics alone, he was one of Tottenham’s better performers on the day.
Indeed, WhoScored handed the 27-year-old a 6.8 rating, which was only bettered by Kulusevski who received a 7.1.
The £40 million midfielder completed 90 per cent of his passes on the day, with four labelled as key passes.
He also completed one dribble and one tackle. But on the whole, it’s fair to say that Maddison has underwhelmed since his return to the side.
If Tottenham are to secure a Champions League spot, Maddison returning to top form feels necessary as they are lacking creativity in midfield at the moment.
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