Pundit claims Spurs star ‘looked completely out of his depth’ before Conte
Jermaine Beckford has praised Antonio Conte for turning Matt Doherty’s form around, insisting the right-back looked ‘out of his depth’ before the Italian’s arrival. Doherty had failed to make any sort of impact since his move from Wolves in the summer of 2020 and according to reports, Tottenham only decided against selling him in January […]
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Jermaine Beckford has praised Antonio Conte for turning Matt Doherty’s form around, insisting the right-back looked ‘out of his depth’ before the Italian’s arrival.
Doherty had failed to make any sort of impact since his move from Wolves in the summer of 2020 and according to reports, Tottenham only decided against selling him in January due to their inability to sign another right wing-back (The Athletic).
The 30-year-old has enjoyed a substantial rise in the few months, establishing himself as the first choice at right wing-back and proving to be a potent threat in the final third.
Unfortunately for Doherty and Tottenham, the Republic of Ireland international has been ruled out for the remainder of the season after rupturing his medial collateral ligament (MCL) during the Lilywhites’ 4-0 win at Villa Park last Sunday (Sky Sports).
Beckford admitted his surprise at the way Doherty has been able to turn his career around in North London under Conte’s tutelage.
The former Everton striker said on the Kelly and Wrighty Show on Premier League Productions (14/04/22 at 1:20 pm): “There are some players who were out in the cold and were brought back in. And they have been unbelievable.
“You have touched upon a few of the names there. Doherty is the one that stands out to me the most.
“When he first signed, I thought ‘you know what he was a pretty good signing. Solid signing from Wolves. He will do a job’. He didn’t look comfortable at all and looked completely out of his depth.
“Now, up until the point of his injury, he was comfortable. He looked really good. He was going forward with determination and desire. Getting back and defending. He looked half decent.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Conte does deserve credit for getting a tune out of several players including Doherty. However, let us also not pretend that the 30-year-old was a complete dud.
He was one of the best wing-backs in the Premier League for the two years before he joined Tottenham. The Republic of Ireland international never got a run of starts under his belt at in his first year and a half at Spurs and was also played out of position.
Now that we are playing a back five, it is not surprising that Doherty has demonstrated that he has the attributes to fulfil the wing-back role. The same is true for Ben Davies, who has always been a natural fit at left centre-back in a back three.
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