Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur

Premier League • England

Nuno makes defiant vow while setting out plan for under-fire Tottenham star

Tottenham manager Nuno Espirito Santo greeting Dele Alli

Nuno Espirito Santo says it is his responsibility to get the best out of Dele Alli again after addressing the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder’s struggles for form.

Alli has suffered from a decline in fortunes over the past couple of seasons. He fell out of favour under Jose Mourinho and could have left the club as far back as January. Any deals were blocked, though, and he has remained a Tottenham player into the Nuno era.

The new coach has given him a fairer share of gametime so far, but has seen little reward in return. Alli has two goals and one assist from his 10 appearances under Nuno so far.

While there have been some more positive signs, he appears to be a shadow of the player that was a key man for club and country a few years ago.

Nuno has his work cut out for him if he is to restore Alli’s fortunes to such a level. But speaking in view of Tottenham’s trip to face West Ham on Sunday, which marks their return to action after Thursday’s loss to Vitesse, the coach gave an honest take of the situation.

“All the players in our squad, we have to realise that during their careers there are ups and downs,” Nuno said. “It is my job to try and make the best out of them, Dele included.

“I don’t look individually when I judge them, I am very fair. Dele started very well in the competition and now he is not in his best moment so it is up to us to get him back in the best moment he can.

“He is working hard, he’s committed, so we have to support and find the right solutions to give him confidence so we can have him back in the best way he can.”

Spurs to rival West Ham for Genk goalscoring machine

Spurs to rival West Ham for Genk goalscoring machine

Genk forward Paul Onuachu is reportedly in demand as Spurs are set to rival West Ham for his signature, with more updates on Dusan Vlahovic and Declan Rice.

Nuno has modified Tottenham’s formation recently, from a 4-3-3 to a 4-2-3-1. He believes Alli can still be effective in the latter system despite not playing a league game since the switch.

“We started the season with three midfielders, with Skippy (Oliver Skipp), Pierre (Emile Hojbjerg) and Dele,” Nuno explained.

“I think he did well, he did well. Now he played today in a different position. I think he’s versatile enough to do both positions.”

Nuno reacts to Tottenham injury issues

Turning the attention to the next game, Nuno gave an update on the conditions of some of his injured players.

Full-backs Matt Doherty and Ryan Sessegnon both remain unavailable, although their return dates will be different.

“No, not yet. Matt Doherty probably next week will join us. Sessy will take a little bit longer,” Nuno confirmed.

“Always frustrating. When you have all the squad the better you are.

“Sessy has been struggling since the beginning of the season. He started I think firstly with an injury and then he went to national team and he had another injury that is keeping him away from the work.”

READ MORESuitor lurking after Nuno tells Tottenham star he’s ‘free to leave’ in January