Spurs players should listen to Nigel Clough

Nigel Clough is spot on in his comments ahead of the Capital One Cup semi-final second leg against Tottenham Hotspur tonight.

Spurs players should listen to Nigel Clough


Clough is of course the son of Brian Clough who took to provincial teams to glory, winning the Second Division with Derby County and then taking them to immediately win the First Division the following season, a feat that had never been achieved. He also took Nottingham Forest from the second division and turned them into European Champions, without simply going out and buying superstars.

Let's not forget the part Peter Taylor played in all this so Nigel Clough couldn't have had a better introduction to the game and more importantly the mentality required to be a winner. When he talks about cup competitions and winning trophies it's time to listen carefully.

"It's all down to the Premier League lads not taking the cups as seriously as the other players. 
"The cups are so important to lower league players and lower league clubs, I don't think that's matched in the Premier League. I don't think they regard it with the same importance, even when they put a full side out."

That is totally accurate. I'll never forget the comments of Mousa Dembele after we lost 2-1 to Leeds United on TV in January 2013.

“The most difficult thing is to think every week as you would if you were playing United. 
“It is very easy to motivate yourself against them but when you have a team like this [Leeds] it’s a bit more difficult, because they have everything to gain. 
“You have to give extra energy to motivate yourself and maybe that was a bit of a problem for us."

It's the reason players are inconsistent, if they do not have the personal motivation then it is physically impossible to give your best. A winning mentality changes that and it is what we must and are trying to cultivate at Tottenham so it permeates throughout the whole club.

A winning mentality is about improving every day because you have a goal to achieve, merely getting motivated for a Manchester United or Chelsea game is not enough. You end up beating Chelsea and losing to Crystal Palace, might just as well have lost to Chelsea and beaten Palace, the points tally is the same.

With the right mentality we would have been in the next round of the FA Cup and with big teams having gone out in with a real chance of winning it, now it's handed on a plate to Liverpool, Manchester United or Arsenal to lose.

It's not just cup games we have to be motivated for, it's the mundane league games as well, victories have to be churned out and with the right mentality they will be, recruiting that mentality will be  the key to our success so let's hope Paul Mitchell is taking it on board.

P.S. If you have never watched The Damned United, dig it out on the Internet and have a watch. The story of Brian Clough's 44 day stint as manager of Leeds United Football Club takes place in 1974.