Selfish player could cost Spurs title: Ince

TOTTENHAM cannot afford to be selfish like Giovani Lo Celso was against Chelsea on Sunday if they want to mount a serious title challenge this season, according to former England midfielder Paul Ince.

Tottenham are currently top of the Premier League after the goalless draw at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea dominated possession and had the best of the chances during the 90 minutes. But Spurs midfielder Lo Celso had a great opportunity in the closing stages following a mistake from Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma.

Lo Celso attempted a chipped shot effort rather than passing to leftback Sergio Reguilon, who had made a lung-busting run to the outside of him.

The Argentine’s shot went wide and Chelsea saw out the remaining minutes.

Ince says Tottenham are rightly being discussed as potential title winners.

However, he says Jose Mourinho cannot afford his players to make wrong decisions like Lo Celso did on a regular basis.

“Even though it’s only the early part of the season, everyone’s talking about Tottenham now,” Ince told Premier League Productions.

“We’ve seen the frailties of Liverpool so to speak with losing (Virgil) Van Dijk and Manchester City haven’t hit the ground running yet so to speak.

“So these teams like Tottenham, Chelsea, this is a rare season where they actually feel they’ve got a chance of winning it.

“To put that belief into the players so early in the season is what Mourinho is brilliant at.

“He’s a motivator, you can see the way they’re playing, the way they’re fighting for each other and doing the right things.

“But if you don’t make the right decisions and you’re going to be damn-right selfish, like Lo Celso was there, that could cost you in the long run.”

Despite not seeing much of the ball, Mourinho said his players were not happy with only getting a point at Chelsea.

“A draw at Stamford Bridge is usually a positive thing and staying top of the league is also a positive thing,” the Portuguese told Sky Sports.

“But my dressing room isn’t happy with that and that is fantastic. It’s a complete change of mentality and personality.

“That was a game where we respected them and they respected us. Nobody gambled today or tried to change the direction of the game.

“Everybody was in a situation where one mistake wins the game, especially in the last 15 minutes.” – Express Newspapers