Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham suffered a painful defeat against Chelsea on Sunday
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou has found himself under pressure after a run of one win in seven matches, but centre-back Cristian Romero has suggested the blame might lie elsewhere.
Romero returned to the starting line-up against Chelsea on Sunday, but lasted just 15 minutes before injury struck again. Postecoglou's team led 2-0 at the time, but ended up losing 4-3.
Spurs' manager has retained the backing of his players despite the result. Former Celtic boss Postecoglou secured a fifth place finish last season, but has seen his team fall into the bottom half of the table during an injury-hit second season.
Rather than targeting Postecloglou, though, Romero appeared to point the finger at chairman Daniel Levy and the club's higher-ups. He has compared the North London team with rival clubs, appearing to suggest better decision-making could have left them in better shape.
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"The truth is, I would say no comment, but..." Romero began in an interview with Telemundo Deportes. "Manchester City competes every year, you see how Liverpool strengthens its squad, Chelsea strengthens their squad, doesn't do well, strengthens again, and now they're seeing results. Those are the things to imitate.
"You have to realise that something is going wrong, hopefully, they realise it. The last few years, it's always the same: first, the players, then the coaching staff changes, and it's always the same people responsible.
"Hopefully, they realise who the true responsible ones are, and we move forward because it's a beautiful club that, with the structure it has, could easily be competing for the title every year," the former Atalanta star added. He called Postecoglou a "great coach," saying he and his fellow players were very happy with the Australian.
Who's to blame for Tottenham's struggles? Have your say in the comments section
Cristian Romero suffered a fresh injury blow against Chelsea
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Early goals from Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski gave Spurs the early upper hand against Chelsea, only for two Cole Palmer penalties and a goal apiece from Jadon Sancho and Enzo Fernandez to consign them to defeat before a late Son Heung-min consolation. Postecoglou addressed the injury situation after the loss, with question marks over Brennan Johnson and Micky van de Ven as well as Romero, but rejected suggestions he took too big a risk at the back.
"No, Romero didn't injure the same thing. It's a totally different injury, but also people I'm sure are aware of our situation," the manager said. "It's not like I've got a multitude of options there, so, you know, you've got to make these decisions.
"Both players [Romero and Van de Ven] trained and tried well, and they both wanted to help. So, you make these decisions with all the best information. Like I said, it's not like Romero re-injured his toe, it's a totally different injury, which could happen at any time."
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