Tottenham Hotspur were on a rich vein of form as they entered January and Antonio Conte has enjoyed a successful start to his reign in the dugout with a nine-game unbeaten run.
It brought Spurs back into contention for a top four finish as they narrowed down the gap and still had games in hand.
And after hiring a Premier League winning manager in Conte, it was fully expected that he would be financially backed in January to bring in the reinforcements required to achieve a successful season.
But money was spent on just one signing and one loan arrival on deadline day, in what was a frustrating and underwhelming January transfer window for Spurs.
And after three league defeats in a row, Micah Richards has slammed Spurs chairman Daniel Levy for not backing Conte with the required funds in order to sign the players he needs to achieve a top four finish and some silverware this season.
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Richards has questioned the point of hiring Conte if he wasn’t going to be backed, as Spurs slipped down to eighth in the table at the weekend and are now seven points adrift of the top four.
Talking on BBC Radio 5 Live, as reported by football.london, he said: “He needs to win so give him what he wants. He’s won in the past so at least he knows how to work that sort of magic at the top level, why would you not give him what he wants?
“Why get an elite manager if you’re not going to give him the tools to deliver? What’s the point?”
The former Manchester City defender certainly isn’t the first to question Levy’s decision making either, while Conte himself admitted his frustrations at a lack of business during the transfer window.
Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski were signed from Juventus on deadline day, but the pair are unlikely to be enough to really galvanise the squad.
And with the recent defensive woes in the side which have led to costly mistakes and points dropped, Spurs are beginning to pay the price for not signing the right players.
That has certainly shown in the last few games, with Spurs losing five of their past eight games in all competitions, which included a Carabao Cup semi-final exit.
And when asked for a verdict on Spurs’ recent run of form, following Sunday’s 2-0 loss to Wolves, Richards didn’t hold back on his verdict.
He said: “Awful, absolutely awful. He [Conte] should have known that when he was offered the job.
“But it’s not Conte’s problem. In the summer, he needs to spend £100million plus, get in some proper players. Maybe £150million, £200million, whatever you can get.
“The senior players, [Cristian] Romero and [Davinson] Sanchez, I’m confused. These are good players or were good players. I don’t understand.
“Every part of the puzzle just seems the wrong way around at this moment in time.”
