Prior to the clash against Wolves on Sunday afternoon, Harry Winks admitted that he had the proverbial heart-to-heart with Jose Mourinho over his playing time at Tottenham.
“From the beginning, I was in and out. The manager told me what he believed I needed to do. I’ve upped my training levels a bit and since then I have had a lot more minutes. It was just an honest conversation, which I respect massively.”
The England international made it abundantly clear that Mourinho had told him what he needed to see on the pitch, and that he had enjoyed some greater first-team minutes because of it.
Watch Tottenham Hotspur Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below
But against Nuno Espirito Santo’s men at the weekend, Winks failed to vindicate the Spurs boss’ faith in him. The north London side struggled as a whole with just five shots on target, but their midfield lynch-pin in particular was virtually anonymous in the engine room.
It was the kind of display that was all show, and no substance. As per Sofascore, the 24-year-old had 96 touches, with only three other players on the pitch enjoying more. But ultimately, he did essentially nothing with it. The Spurs man provided no key passes, failed to deliver any accurate crosses from the three that he attempted, and saw his pair of shots get blocked.
When did that happen?! Premier League experts will know which surprising clubs these stars once played for…
There was no incisiveness or threat with what Winks tried to do during the game, and that simply played into Wolves’ hands. The Molineux side could sit back in their shape, knowing that there weren’t too many Spurs players capable of picking out the cute pass or breaking them down.
Winks was virtually anonymous with his outing on Sunday, and having publicly revealed that his “honest conversation” with Mourinho had helped in seeing him get more minutes, he badly let his manager down.
Meanwhile, this Spurs ace is enjoying an impressive season.
