Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho has launched a scathing criticism of midfielder Tanguy Ndomble following the 1-1 draw with Burnley at Turf Moor.
The summer arrival was replaced at half time by Giovani Lo Celso, and Mourinho didn't hold back when asked about the reasons for his decision.
"My thinking was that in the first half we didn't have a midfield. Simple as that," the Spurs boss said in his post-match press conference.
"I think more important than the tactics is to have midfield players that want the ball, to have midfield players that connect the game, to have midfield players that press, to have midfield players that recover ball, to have midfield players that win duels and we didn't have it.
"Of course I'm not speaking about Skipp because Skipp's a kid of 19-years-old that played two hours of football in the last day. I'm not critical with Skipp at all, at all, Because I don't want another question about the same story, I'm not going to run away and I have to say that Tanguy had enough time to come to a different level."
But what else has the Tottenham boss previously said about the player in recent months?
Ahead of the game against Burnley, Mourinho defended his midfielder after a video on social media showed the player failing to keep up with Wolves player Pedro Neto.
"(Starts laughing) Or Pedro Neto is very fast," said the head coach . " Pedro Neto is very fast.
"Yeah, but Wolves do fantastic work in the selection of the profile of their players, they know what they want, they choose the profile of player adapted to the qualities of their team.
"We had 65 per cent of the ball and we almost doubled their number of passes. But they are very fast.
"Traore, Jota, Pedro Neto, Podence, they are all very, very fast and it was impossible for Tanguy to get him."
Ahead of the Premier League game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, Mourinho spoke of Ndombele's fitness problems this season.
"Playing one match and then getting injured again. So difficult, difficult time."
"At least he's not been injured in the last few weeks, he played a good 30 minutes in the last game and it was a game of high intensity. And hopefully he'll only improve," added the head coach when asked about the player's training programme.
"I hope that the first time he plays a match in the starting line-up, he can play and be on the pitch for 60-90 minutes and not have any setback."
Ahead of the FA Cup fourth round replay, Mourinho praised Ndombele for his quality.
"He played well when he came on the other day. He is not with problems now, he is training normally and now it is time, instead of playing 15 or 20 minutes, to play more. So yes, he is a player with amazing quality," he said .
"I don't think he can play 90 minutes. Can he start, and we take him (off) later? Can we see how Dele Alli is? Let's see. If you ask me which team plays tomorrow, I have no idea. I have to wait.
"No, I think it's physical. He had lots of injuries. He didn't have a proper pre-season, then he had injuries in Mauricio's time and then I arrived and he has had injuries again," he explained.
"Not big things, but small things which stop him and break his evolution. Then he played with me a first match against Norwich for 90 minutes and it was the only match where he played for 90. Then he breaks again. We are trying to give him the best possible condition for not to have another stop."
