Sherwood hopes outburst will reinvigorate Tottenham

Tim Sherwood is hopeful that his damning criticism of Tottenham after their defeat at Chelsea can reinvigorate his side’s season.

Tottenham were hammered 4-0 at Stamford Bridge last weekend, a loss that featured a catalogue of individual errors from the visitors.

Head coach Sherwood slammed his players after the humbling, questioning their character and emphatically dismissing their prospects of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League.

The 45-year-old’s words have attracted disapproval from many observers, with former Tottenham and England boss Glenn Hoddle questioning Sherwood’s decision to condemn his players in public.

But Sherwood is unrepentant and, ahead of Thursday’s UEFA Europa League clash with Benfica, insisted he will not change the way he speaks to the media.

“I hope so,” Sherwood replied when asked if his words could galvanise his team for the rest of the season.

“They know how I am and how I felt about what happened, but we’re moving on. You’ve got to move on, you can’t dwell on it.

“They all appreciate that I’m singing it from the heart, not from a script. I’m not an actor, I work on impulse, and that’s exactly what it was.

“I don’t see it as a weakness. Like I say, it’s not pre-meditated, I just do what I think is right at the time and that was the way I felt.

“I’m never going to take a step back and say I think this might be the right one, I think this is going to have the right reaction. I’m just going to shoot from the hip, that’s what I’m like.

“I’ve not taken a step back, but I have obviously assessed the other times when we have had that capitulation and something can’t be right. Something is ingrained in there and I’m trying to stop it as quickly as possible.”