Joe Cole urges under-fire Tottenham star to whisk off intense Mourinho blame

Joe Cole has said that Tottenham midfielder Tanguy Ndombele must learn to get over the criticism he has recently received from boss Jose Mourinho. Mourinho made clear his disappointment with Tanguy Ndombele in the wake of Tottenham’s 1-1 draw at Burnley. The Spurs manager yanked Ndombele off at half-time a Turf Moor after a poor showing. Mourinho fumed: “We didn’t have a midfield in the first half. I am not going to run away. I have to say Tanguy has had enough time to come to a different level. I know the Premier League is very difficult, I know that some players take a long time. But a player with his potential, his responsibility, he has to give us more.” But Cole says Ndombele has to take the criticism on the chin and provide the right response. “When it happened to me it was not a problem,” Cole told the PA news agency. “It is a grown up’s sport. If you don’t play well or you don’t do what you are supposed to do, whether you expect to get criticised publicly or not, you need to be tough, you need to understand the nature of the beast. “He is a young man, the right response is to knuckle down and perform. I saw the performance in question and if he was one of my players that would have been my stance on it. “Whether or not I did it publicly, that is always the discussion to have with your coaching staff, what’s the benefit? For the young lad, this is football, it can be a tough, brutal sport at time. You’re in the limelight, but we are very lucky to do what we have to do so you have to take the rough with the smooth.” Source: Teamtalk

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