Harry Winks laments Tottenham’s ‘ridiculous’ schedule, but it is a problem entirely of their own making

Tottenham still have two more fixtures this week after losing to Manchester City on Monday evening

Harry Winks has criticised Tottenham’s ‘ridiculous’ schedule and says it is a situation they have been ‘dealt’, admitting the root cause of their hectic predicament is down to their own stadium woes.

Had the new stadium been finished on time, Tottenham would have played Manchester City on Sunday, instead of Monday night where they lost 1-0 on an embarrassingly poor quality pitch. This would have given them more time to recover and prepare for their Carabao Cup tie against West Ham tonight and Saturday’s Premier League visit to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The fixture against City was chosen to be broadcast by Sky Sports, but due to Wembley hosting an NFL event and Tottenham not having an alternative ground, the fixture was moved to Monday night.

“If any of the boys are feeling pain, now is the time to tell the physios,” said Winks as Spurs begin to prepare to compete in three matches within a week.

Mauricio Pochettino revealed he will be making wholesale changes to the side against West Ham to ease some of the physical demands.

“It’s going to have to be,” added Winks when reflecting on the how important Tottenham’s squad depth will need to be.

“We’ve got three games in five days which is ridiculous really in terms of the schedule. Especially playing two games after a game tonight it’s going to be tough for us. We’ve got to dig in, we’ve got a big squad, got players that can play two games in two days because we’re fit a fit squad and a fit bunch of players.

“Some of the lads who played today, played 90 minutes, are going to have to be ready to play 48 hours later which is no great and not ideal, it should still be a recovery day.

Wembley’s pitch visibly wore the effects of Sunday’s NFL game (Getty)

“It’s the cards we’ve been dealt so we’ve got to deal with it.”

As well as having little time to prepare for their next match, Tottenham also served up a Premier League pitch far from fitting of the stature of the match or competition. After hosting NFL just over 24 hours prior to Monday’s start, the surface was atrocious.

There was a glaring NFL logo on the centre circle, lines were clearly visible and the quality of the surface was reduced. There were large patches of brown turf, although because of the plastic and natural composition of the surface this did not impact the game as it perhaps could have.

That said, there was certainly some parts of the play it affected, and it may even have prevented Tottenham from snatching a late equaliser. Erik Lamela was primed to convert a low cross from close range but his effort sailed well over after the ball appeared to bounce upwards just as he struck it.

“It’s difficult for both teams,” said Winks, who opted for a diplomatic response to the issue. “We can’t stand here and say it’s bad just for us and have it as an excuse. There were two teams playing on that pitch, there’s no excuse. It was difficult. Pitch ain’t great. But that’s football you have to deal with those situations.

“You can’t say we didn’t fight back, create opportunities because we did and right at the end we could’ve made it 1-1 and it’s a different story last five minutes. Who knows — get a win. It’s one of those days you take your chances and it’s a different story.

“League Cup, Champions League, FA Cup, they’re all a priority for us and we want to win something this year — Premier League as well. The Champions League is going to the tough but we’re not out of that just yet we’re going to fight for that. Carabao Cup is going to be a big important competition for us this year and hopefully we can go all the way.”