Spurs have suffered a ‘massive fall from grace’ under boss Antonio Conte, says Jermaine Jenas

Former Tottenham midfielder Jermaine Jenas has criticised the way his old team are approaching matches as they struggle for consistent form this season.

Spurs followed up a stunning 1-0 home win over Premier League champions Manchester City with a heavy 4-1 defeat at the hands of Leicester City in their next game.

Speaking on BT Sport, Jenas questioned whether Spurs’ reactionary tactics are to blame for their up-and-down form.

“I think the game’s much more simple for them when they don’t have it [the ball],” Jenas said. “They can go, right, what is our plan? We either sit deep and counter or we’re going to get in your faces.

“They’re not good at keeping possession. They’re terrible at keeping the ball and I think it puts them under so much pressure and that’s why you have these massive moments against teams like Leicester and other teams, who might go ‘ok, you have it’”, he said.

Despite their mixed results during the current campaign, Spurs sit fifth in the Premier League table, are still in the FA Cup and have a chance to progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League with victory over AC Milan in the last-16.

Even with the prospect of a successful end to the season, ex-England defender Rio Ferdinand thinks Conte is setting his team up incorrectly, saying, “I’ve watched numerous games and the way they start games, it absolutely frustrates me. Let alone how the players must feel. They start so deep, Harry Kane’s almost in a defensive midfielder position at times.

“Not until they go a goal or two down do they come alive and start playing like you expect them to. It’s outrageous really when you think of the players they’ve got on their books”, he said.

Joining in the discussion, former Tottenham striker Peter Crouch said: “They’re obviously being told to play that way.”

He admits the inconsistency is confusing, saying, “After the City game you think ‘right, kick on now’. It was an amazing performance and an amazing result, and then to go and do this at Leicester – this is why Spurs fans are so frustrated.”

However, Crouch thinks Conte should be saved from too much criticism, saying, “I think it’s hard to judge him on it. If you remember where Spurs were.

“To get them in the Champions League, he’s done brilliant things, he’s done wonders, let’s be honest, but it’s not been a good season. It’s been a difficult watch this year.”

Jenas admits the potential Spurs showed towards the end of last season has made recent results more difficult to take.

“They signed players that they thought were going to improve them vastly,” the ex-England midfielder said.

“They qualified for a Champions League, they were able, in individual games, to compete at the end of the season against Liverpool and compete against [Manchester] City in individual 1v1 games.

“Everyone was thinking, ‘this year, we’re going to kick on again’ and it’s just been a massive fall from grace.”

Following on from Jenas’ analysis, Ferdinand said, “That’s the killer. It shows you they’ve got it in there somewhere. That’s the most frustrating thing.

“You see the performance like that, a result like that [v Manchester City], and then you flip it a week later and that happens, they get dismantled by Leicester, who aren’t in the best of form.

“It’s baffling.”