Jamie O'Hara has let rip at Tottenham boss Antonio Conte after the Italian launched an astonishing rant aimed at his own players following the 3-3 draw at Southampton.
Spurs were leading 3-1 with 13 minutes left to play, but goals from ex-Arsenal man Theo Walcott and a 93rd minute penalty from James Ward-Prowse ensured the game ended all square. O'Hara has insisted Conte must take his fair share of the blame, despite the fact the ex- Chelsea manager seemed to deliberately place his players under the spotlight.
Conte's post-match press conference will live long in the memory, with the Spurs boss labelling his squad as "selfish" and claiming they don’t "want to play under pressure", while also leaving a subtle dig for owner Daniel Levy.
"Tottenham's story is this. 20 years there is the owner and they never won something but why?," Conte said. "The fault is only for the club, or for every manager that stay here. I have seen the managers that Tottenham had on the bench.
"You risk to disrupt the figure of the manager and to protect the other situation in every moment. Until now I try to hide the situation but now no because I repeat I don't want to see what I have seen today because this is unacceptable and also unacceptable for the fans."
O'Hara conceded that a lot of what Conte said about his squad was true, but made clear he thought the manager was not exactly an innocent bystander in the club's demise.
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"I can’t get behind a manager slaughtering his team when an international break is coming up and he’s basically saying to Levy ‘I beg you to sack me’," O'Hara told talkSPORT.
"He rested Harry Kane in an FA Cup game, we lost that game, the performance was pathetic. He dug the players out after that and I have no problem with that because it was pathetic.
"Then you go and lose against AC Milan, another pathetic performance, but they are his tactics as well. Yes the players haven’t been good enough, they haven’t stepped up and some have gone missing but he’s to blame as well, these are his tactics and it’s diabolical football to watch."
While he wasn't quite as scathing in his own assessment, Eric Dier was particularly downbeat and frustrated when reflecting on the performance.
"We put ourselves in a position where we have to struggle for results every time, from leading in a comfortable position.
"I don’t think it’s a lack of concentration - although maybe it is, because it’s sloppiness. It’s like we want to make it difficult for ourselves."
