Former Republic of Ireland international David Connolly fears for Matt Doherty's future at Tottenham Hotspur following Spurs' 3-1 defeat to Liverpool on Thursday evening.
The north London outfit suffered their first defeat of 2021 as goals from Roberto Firmino, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Sadio Mane sealed all three points for Jurgen Klopp's side, despite midfield ace Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg rifling home his first goal for Spurs in emphatic style, making it 1-2.
For Doherty, who joined Spurs from Premier League rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers last summer, the occasion saw him play at left-wing back, as Jose Mourinho - the Spurs head coach - was forced into rejigging his defence because of an injury to Sergio Reguilon.
In the Spaniard's absence, Mourinho would have usually elected to field Ben Davies at left-back. However, the Portuguese chief opted to go with a 3-4-3 formation, meaning Davies moved into the centre-back positions.
Having made that decision, Doherty, who is a Republic of Ireland international, was forced to play in an unusual left wing-back position and he struggled up against the pace and trickery of Mohamed Salah, who had a goal ruled out in the second half.
Connolly told RTÉ's Game On: "For one of the goals, Mourinho was screaming at Doherty. You could see his body language.
"I just can’t see it working out for him at Tottenham. They played with wing-backs ]against Liverpool] but Doherty was on the left.
"Whenever I’ve watched him for Tottenham, and obviously I want him to do well because I want him to perform well for Ireland, I really don’t think he suits them.
"I don’t know if Mourinho suits him as a personality either. I just worry about him at Tottenham. I don’t think he’s suited there."
Since joining Spurs last summer, Doherty has struggled to nail down a place in Mourinho's plans, despite being tipped to become a mainstay in the former Chelsea boss' team.
In total, he has featured just 18 times in all competitions, with only half of those appearances being in the Premier League. He has also produced just one assist this season.
