Cristian Stellini has pledged that Tottenham will rally round Davinson Sanchez after the defender’s 23-minute horror cameo that teed up the 3-2 home defeat by Bournemouth.
Sanchez helped gift Bournemouth two goals at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, joining the fray after 35 minutes and being withdrawn on 58.
The 26-year-old replaced the injured Clement Lenglet, when Spurs were winning 1-0 thanks to Heung-min Son’s fine finish.
Sanchez and Pedro Porro conspired to lose the ball in the build-up to Matias Vina’s leveller, then the Colombia defender unwittingly played in Dominic Solanke for Bournemouth’s second.
Interim head coach Stellini insisted Sanchez was withdrawn for Spurs to shift their formation in a bid to chase the game, with his replacement Arnaut Danjuma later hitting the net.
Dango Ouattara slotted home to condemn Spurs to their 10th Premier League loss of the campaign, putting their top-four hopes at risk.
Sanchez’s substitution was cheered in a brutal move from the Spurs fans, leaving Stellini insisting the squad will move to lift their team-mate's spirits.
“I understand it’s a tough moment for everyone and we have to analyse this moment, everyone needs to analyse how important is to support the player,” he said.
“I take the responsibility for the decision we made. I thought it was early in the game to use a striker when Lenglet came off, more because it was the first half and we were one up, so I didn’t think it was the moment to change with a striker.
“After, when we were 2-1 down I thought it was the moment. Davinson has to know it was only a tactical decision but we need to support him because it's a tough moment for him and also for all the team.
“So we have to create unity in our dressing room and in between us, and we will do. It’s rare this happens to replace a substitute, but it can happen, it’s not so rare if you have to recover the game and need more strikers. You have to take a decision.”
The Spurs fans booed almost Sanchez’s every touch, but Stellini has no qualms about fielding him moving forward, especially at home.
Asked if he will select Sanchez again, Stellini replied: “If we need, yes. He's a professional player. We need to go strong for the team.
“But if the team pushed more when we scored the first goal, we would be speaking about a different situation.
“It's the mindset that needs to change, not only Davinson. It's the whole team that can help, every player that came onto the pitch.”
