Martin Keown highlights weakness in Tottenham squad after Champions League exit

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Martin Keown reflected on Tottenham’s draw to PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League by stating that the Premier League side don’t have enough depth in their squad.

Spurs drew 2-2 away to PSV on Wednesday night in the Champions League group stages, which means they have an uphill struggle to reach the knockout rounds of Europe’s elite club competition.

The North London club were without key injured trio Jan Vertonghen, Dele Alli and Danny Rose for the fixture, but did have Christian Eriksen back in the side.

Keown has argued strongly that Spurs simply don’t have quality back-up options compared to Liverpool, which has a real negative impact on manager Mauricio Pochettino.

“Mauricio Pochettino is not able to call upon the same calibre of squad player as Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool. Tottenham did not strengthen in the summer and when core players are unavailable, their performances suffer,” Keown told the Daily Mail.

Spurs’ squad options are not quite as bad as most people make out, but it’s true that a weaker set of options compared to some of their top-six rivals makes it difficult for Pochettino.

The manager may well feel like he’s fighting a losing battle when he sees the amount of talent Manchester City or Liverpool have sat on the bench each week.

Spurs’ main problem is that they don’t have a second-choice striker that can make an impact behind Harry Kane, while the fact they signed nobody in the summer left the squad looking a little thin on the ground.

It seems an impossible task for Pochettino to get his current crop of players to compete across four competitions for trophies, but on the flip side they have started well in the Premier League and that may now have to become a priority.