13 February 2023 , 21:00
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Tottenham royalty Glenn Hoddle fears Spurs have gone backwards in Europe – because they are weaker in defence.
And the former darling of White Hart Lane says Antonio Conte, who has never gone beyond the Champions League quarter-finals as a coach, may not be flexible enough tactically to harbour any realistic hope of lifting the European Cup this season.
BT Sport pundit Hoddle believes Tottenham will beat AC Milan over two legs and reach the last eight. But even before the injury crisis which ruled out Hugo Lloris, Rodrigo Bentancur, Yves Bissouma and Ryan Sessegnon at the San Siro on Tuesday – on top of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's suspension - he highlighted a weakness at the back as their achilles heel.
Asked if Spurs' current team was a better one than the Champions League finalists of 2019 on Mauricio Pochettino's watch, Hoddle was adamant: “No – purely because of the defensive side.
“Four years ago that back four was at its peak, that was a decent unit with the ball and defending the box. Don't get me wrong, Tottenham still have that X factor going forward, and if Conte could play every game the way Spurs played against Manchester City the other day, that would be the template.
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“Every time they broke, they looked dangerous – and they did it to City for 45 minutes up there as well. It was the defence that let them down that night. So overall, I would say this group is not as good, but at the top end of the pitch they are probably better.”
There is a significant difference between Mauricio Pochettino and Antonio Conte's Tottenham sides in Europe (Getty Images)Hoddle's warning about Tottenham's back line was underlined by Saturday's awful 4-12 defeat at Leicester : Three defenders who finished that drubbing at the King Power also featured in the final game of Pochettino's reign – Eric Dier, Davinson Sanchez and Ben Davies.
He does not expect Conte go as deep as the Champions League class of 2019 because of the Italian's innate caution, saying: “Sometimes, when they are expected to open a team up, that is when they become more of a problem.
“You are going to get some really top-quality coaches, top-quality players and I think teams will let Tottenham and come and say see if you are good enough to open us up because they know their achilles heel will be their defending.
Glenn Hoddle is backing Tottenham to reach the Champions League quarter-finals (Visionhaus/Getty Images)“I think it sums up the way Conte plays - his mentality, the way he sets his team up, is for a long season, a grinding season and that is how he has achieved things.
“In knockout football, the groups are gone, this is the real Champions League football. You then have to change your philosophy, if you are 2-0 down, and you have to go for it.
“I don’t see him having that flexibility. I don’t see him playing that way or changing his way and that is perhaps what has caught him out in Europe.”
- BT Sport is the home of the UEFA Champions League. Watch AC Milan v Spurs exclusively live on BT Sport 1 on Tuesday 14th February from 7pm. For more info, visit