Spurs assistant Cristian Stellini defends Pedro Porro after wing-back's difficult debut

Tottenham's assistant coach Cristian Stellini has leapt to the defence of the club's most recent signing, Pedro Porro, after the Spanish wing-back endured a difficult debut in the 4-1 defeat at Leicester on Saturday.

Porro was left on the bench against Manchester City last weekend as Spurs won 1-0, but the 23-year-old replaced Emerson Royal on the right at the King Power Stadium as manager Antonio Conte returned following a recent operation.

But Spurs struggled after going 1-0 up through Rodrigo Bentancur and ended up losing 4-1 in a dismal display.

Apart from Bentancur, none of Tottenham's players came out of the match with much credit, but Porro was particularly poor.

The former Sporting CP player lost the ball 13 times in just 47 touches and was beaten in six of his 13 duels.

He was even described as "so bad it's unbelievable" by former Spurs manager Tim Sherwood, though it has to be said he is not always the best judge of players.

Stellini, standing in for Conte on media duties, was asked about the Spaniard and said: "Pedro, we think he was ready to play. For sure he's ready to play in this league because he's a great player with experience.

"We know also it's not easy. Changing league, the type of football you have to play, maybe he needs time. He can react with all the team. The team has to help a player like Pedro who arrives now and needs time to play in this type of league."