Eric Dier defends early season form of Tottenham teammates Harry Kane and Dele Alli.
Eric Dier has leapt to the defence of Tottenham team-mates Harry Kane and Dele Alli and insisted they are not suffering from burn-out after Euro 2016.
Kane and Alli have struggled to impress in Spurs’ first three games of the campaign, with neither getting a goal or assist between them in the club’s one win and two draws.
The duo formed a lethal partnership for Mauricio Pochettino’s side last term, but failed to perform for England in the summer as fatigue from making a combined total of 112 appearances appeared to take its toll.
They came under heavy criticism for their displays in France this summer, particularly Kane, who went into the tournament having won the race to the Premier League Golden Boot.
Both players have been called up for England’s first World Cup qualifier away in Slovakia on Sunday, but Dier sees no cause for alarm.
When asked by Standard Sport if the influential duo were feeling the strain of a busy year, which culminated in a disappointing defeat to Iceland at Euro 2016, he said: “I don’t think so.
“We have only played three games so there is plenty of time for them to score loads of goals and get lots of assists.
“Harry showed that last year when he got off to a slow start and still won the Golden Boot for being top scorer. I don’t think anyone has to be too worried about them.
“I think they have begun the season well, it’s just as a team we have had a bit of a slow start.
“It has not been easy for us because we had less time off on holiday and we came back and had a short pre-season.
“But I think after this international break hopefully everyone will have played a few games and will feel a lot better going into the rest of the season.”
(London Evening Standard)
