Tottenham are not mentally fragile! Danny Rose brushes criticism aside after EFL Cup exit

Spurs defender stays defiant after another semi-final defeat
Out | Tottenham lost a semi-final for the third consecutive season
Action Images via Reuters
Dan Kilpatrick @Dan_KP25 January 2019

Danny Rose brushed aside criticism of Tottenham’s mentality following last night’s defeat by Chelsea in the EFL Cup semi-final and said the squad are not affected by the club’s ongoing wait for a trophy.

Spurs lost a semi-final for the third consecutive season, going down 4-2 on penalties as Eric Dier and Lucas Moura missed from the spot following a 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge.

The visitors — without Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Heung-min Son — trailed 2-0 at half-time to goals from N’Golo Kante and Eden Hazard, but Fernando Llorente’s header from Rose’s cross levelled the tie at 2-2 on aggregate.

Spurs have now lost five of their last six semi-finals going back to 2010 and, although they remain in the FA Cup and Champions League, next month will mark 11 years since they last won silverware. Their latest defeat has raised more questions about the squad’s winning mentality, but Rose insists they were just unlucky on the night.

“It’s not about our mentality, we’ve just missed two penalties,” Rose told Standard Sport. “That criticism is unfair and we’re not going to entertain any talk like that. Obviously we know we haven’t won a trophy for a while, but we’re not driving into training thinking about it.

In Pictures | Chelsea vs Tottenham | 24/01/2019

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“We’re not training thinking about it and when we lost last night it’s not the first thing we thought of.

“We’re fully aware that we want to win something, but just because it’s not happened it doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen soon.

“Everyone’s proud of how we played. Even though we went 2-0 down, we didn’t change our approach.

“We kept trying to play. Obviously you need a bit of luck on penalties. It was just one of those things. It’s gone now and we’ll try to win on Sunday [in the FA Cup fourth round at Crystal Palace].”

Rose was excellent after replacing Ben Davies who suffered a groin strain after 30 minutes, while Moussa Sissoko hobbled off late on, having only just returned from injury. Both Rose and Serge Aurier finished the game with knocks, but could not be replaced as Spurs had made all three substitutions.

Spurs will be without Kane and Alli until early March due to ankle and hamstring injuries respectively and they have now suffered a remarkable 37 separate injuries to first-team players this season.

“We’ve just got to get on with it — there’s nothing else we can do,” Rose said. “It’s an opportunity for people to play more regularly, an opportunity for youngsters to be given debuts, be given a run in the team.

“I’m over the moon for Fernando. I hope his goal has shut a few people up. It was a good header.

“He’s not featured as much as he would have liked, but he’s going to get a lot of game time now Harry’s out and it’s nice that he’s scored in the right net this week and we hope it continues.”

Harry Winks echoed Rose’s sentiments and said the squad have never practised spot-kicks.

“We don’t really work on penalties,” said the midfielder.

“As the manager says, sometimes you win, sometimes you don’t.

“We beat Watford [in the third round] on penalties, but we never worked on them then. It’s the nature of the game.

“It’s horrible. To get this close to a final and lose on penalties is harder than losing in 90 minutes, but everyone’s proud of themselves for the character that we showed and the way we fought.

“Anyone can lose on penalties — it doesn’t matter about the stature of the club or who you are. The manager said he’s incredibly proud of us and we’re proud as players. It’s crushing when you lose on penalties.”

Tottenham will assess Davies and Sissoko on Friday ahead of the trip to Selhurst Park, but neither is likely to be risked on Sunday.

“My groin is a bit sore, so I have to see how it is in the next couple of days. I don’t think it’s too bad,” said Davies.

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