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Cristian Romero spoke honestly after Tottenham's dismal defeat to Nottingham Forest which has only increased Premier League relegation fears
Tottenham captain Cristian Romero has delivered a brutally honest verdict following the Premier League defeat to Nottingham Forest. Goals from Igor Jesus, Morgan Gibbs-White and Taiwo Awoniyi sealed the loss, with Romero making his feelings clear after the 3-0 loss against their relegation rivals.
When asked how to explain the performance, he told Sky Sports: "Nothing. This season is tough, especially in this moment, another loss at home. The first thing for the fans is thank you for today because they stayed with us.
"The most important thing for us is the last seven finals. Now, everyone goes to their national teams, and when we're back here [we] understand the situation is tough, but the most important thing is to play games like finals.
"It's like this, it's very tough and it's [been] a bad season. Honestly, me, the first responsibility. Football is sometimes like this. The most important thing is staying together."
Spurs headed into the game with optimism after drawing away at Liverpool last weekend and beating Atletico Madrid in a last-16 Champions League second leg, but losing 7-5 on aggregate. Romero was asked about how Spurs struggled to replicate those displays which saw him bemoan a constant problem they have faced.
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He said: "When we played here against Atletico Madrid, fantastic game. The first half [vs Forest] was good but in the second half we lose confidence, lose the ball, concede another stupid goal. This is difficult but now it is finished. it is painful and a bad but the most important thing is go to national team and then back here for seven finals."
The result saw Forest leapfrog Tottenham and go into sixteenth on 32 points with Spurs remaining on 30 and just one ahead of West Ham United following their defeat to Aston Villa.
Igor Tudor has now overseen five defeats from a possible seven games, with pressure undoubtedly mounting on his job. He was not present to answer any questions about the performance or his future after the game due to a family bereavement, with assistant head coach Bruno Saltor stepping in.
He took questions on injuries, Tudor and the performance, but stated his belief that Tottenham can turn things around despite just one win from their last 16 league games.
Saltor said: "I thought for 44 minutes in the first half we were the better team. And again, I think any mistake that we make, any small detail goes against us and we're not able to capitalise on the opposition's mistakes. And probably that affected the team.
"And that's our job as coaches, to keep helping the players. And as you can see, the players, they care and they are 100% trying their best. But at the moment, it's not enough. We need to minimise any mistakes because we know that we're going to concede a goal.
"Yeah, of course [we can turn things around], we feel the support from everyone at the club and we're just focusing on how we can help players. Obviously, a lot of players, they're leaving now for the internationals and as soon as they get back, get back on the train, come and try to get everyone up to speed and prepare for the next game.
"It gives me the belief that the last two games against Liverpool and Atletico Madrid, I thought they were a great performance from the first minute to the last minute. On the first half today, to be honest, I think we should have been 1-0 up at least
"If you look at the stats, we created clear chances, but as I said, right now, every small detail is going against us and it's about turning that around and that's what gives me confidence."
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