Glenn Hoddle bemoans ‘disastrous’ night for Tottenham in Europe

Glenn Hoddle believes Tottenham’s Europa League exit to Dinamo Zagreb is a disaster for the club.

Jose Mourinho’s side were expected to seal their passage through to the quarter-finals after heading to Croatia with a 2-0 first-leg advantage.

But Mislav Orsic’s hat-trick sent them crashing out of the competition, and dealing a major blow to their aspirations of Champions League football next season.

Reacting to the defeat, Hoddle, the former Tottenham player and manager, said: “It was a disastrous performance, a disastrous result for the club.

“Spurs were diabolical. Mentally, they got it wrong right through the game.”

Speaking as a pundit on BT Sport, he added: “I said at half-time that if Zagreb score, I am expecting a reaction from Tottenham. But I then didn’t expect Zagreb to take control of the game.

“Spurs went backwards, downhill, instead of fighting. They should have gone up through the gears, but there was not enough ability on the team, or on the night that somebody was going to take responsibility and change the game.

“Everybody was looking at each other. That can happen, and when it does it is disastrous for the team.”

The defeat was Tottenham’s second in five days following their 2-1 loss at Arsenal in the Premier League.

Former Spurs striker Peter Crouch said on BT Sport: “They haven’t turned up in two games.

“Players have gone missing. We saw players hiding, not tracking back, simple passes were not made, there was no creativity.

“Zagreb were the better side, and they deserved to go through. That’s disastrous and you wonder where Tottenham’s season is going to go from now.

“I have got a lot of friends who are Spurs fans and they are not happy. They lost the north London derby with a whimper, and by going out of Europe tonight, there season is hanging by a thread.”

Tottenham’s defeat at Arsenal last weekend leaves them six points off the top four, and qualification for next season’s Champions League.

Crouch added:  “I look at Harry Kane trudging off the pitch. He shouldn’t be playing in this competition. He is a Champions League player, but he has gone out to Dinamo Zagreb and that is the worrying thing.

“Where is his head at? Not just the manager, but those players, Son (Heung-min), Kane, they deserve to be playing at a higher level than the Europa League.”