Jamie Carragher believes Tottenham Hotspur have reached the end of their cycle and need to ‘start again’ as the club look to revive their fortunes.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side reached the Champions League final for the first time in their history last season but have begun the new season in disappointing fashion, winning just three of their 12 fixtures in all competitions.
Spurs‘ poor form has seen the pressure increase on both Pochettino and his players, and former England defender Carragher believes the club are in urgent need of changes if they are to challenge for silverware.
“How I explain it is that I think this cycle is over for this Tottenham team – and I love this Tottenham team, and I love this Tottenham manager,” Carragher said on Monday Night Football.
“But last season, getting to the Champions League final papered over some of the cracks slightly. They lost 20 games last season.
“So that was my worry for them. Are they going to get back to what we have seen in the last few years from them at the start of this season, or has this team realised it’s not quite good enough to win the Premier League, or to win the Champions League?
“It feels like it’s physical and it’s mental maybe in the dressing room too. There is a lack of intensity and it comes from the fact they have been together so long and they are not quite good enough. It looks to me like this is the end of it now.
Carragher: "Time for change at Spurs" pic.twitter.com/2CajpYPuDp
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“They are not going to win the Premier League or the Champions League now. They are just about qualifying for the top four and that was the remit three or four years ago.”
Tottenham have been almost unrecognisable in recent weeks and whilst Carragher believes the foundations are still in place to build a successful side, he believes the squad is in urgent need of freshening up with the arrival of new additions.
“I still feel there are some really good players at Tottenham and they have one of the great managers, not just in the Premier League but in Europe. But for me now, him being there for six years with the same players, they have reached a level now where they are not going to go any further.
“I tell you what it reminds me of, and this is why I am not going to be too critical of the players or the manager. I was managed for Gerard Houllier for six years, and Rafa Benitez for six years. They are the two biggest influences on my career. They did great jobs for Liverpool and they won trophies.
“The thing for us year after year was to win the title. Then we got to second, and we completely fell away. It was almost as though we needed to start again. And with Tottenham, it is as if they need to start again, either with a new manager – not because he’s not good enough, because he is good enough – or with a new squad.
“This squad should have been changed before now. The manager has been crying out for that. So I think you have to point fingers at people at the top of the club, because this team needs new players. It just needed freshening up and now it feels like it’s gone on too long.”
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