Chris Hughton is baffled by the recent criticism of Tottenham and their manager Mauricio Pochettino, telling talkSPORT the ‘wonderful’ coach can turn their form around.
Last season’s Champions League finalists have endured a tough start to the new campaign, with just three wins from their opening eight fixtures leaving them in ninth place.
And they are in danger of slipping further down the table if their current run continues, following back-to-back defeats to Bayern Munich 7-2 in the Champions League and Brighton 3-0 in the Premier League.
It appears a good time, then, to host rock-bottom Watford at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday – with LIVE and EXCLUSIVE commentary on talkSPORT 2.
The Hornets are still yet to win this term, so Pochettino will surely be looking to win and force the spotlight from his team as well as himself, following months of speculation over his future.
But Hughton believes the criticism of the Argentine and his Tottenham side is ‘very harsh’, dismissing their current run as ‘something that is normal for every team’.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with talkSPORT’s James Savundra which will be aired in full on Wednesday from 7pm, the former Spurs star and long-serving coach said: “[The criticism] is very harsh.
“We’re talking about a manager who has achieved something that the large majority will never do, which is getting to a Champions League final.
“They have a wonderful manager.
“You can’t go from being the manager who gets you to the Champions League final a few months ago to suddenly being a manager who can’t get the best out of the team.
“They are capable of going on a good run, but it is a difficult period they’re going through.
“This is where Mauricio will use the best man-management skills and the best tactical knowledge that he has. He has that type of ability to turn things around.
“Tottenham are in a good place at the moment. They’re a consistent top-four team and certainly in my era that was never the case.
“What’s happened is just what can happen in football, which is they’re having a bad time. It’s normal for everybody.
“As well as Liverpool and Manchester City are doing at the moment, at some stage they’ll have a tough time and they’ll get criticism, it goes with the game. It just so happens that this is Tottenham’s period.”
Saturday is GameDay on talkSPORT and talkSPORT 2 as we bring you THREE live Premier League commentaries across our network, including Tottenham vs Watford at 3pm