Why the Tottenham board were left furious with Christian Stellini following FA Cup exit

Tottenham's board were left furious with stand-in boss Christian Stellini after he fielded a rotated side in the 1-0 FA Cup defeat to Sheffield United, according to reports.

The lilywhites crashed out of the competition with a tame 1-0 defeat to the Irons during a game which the likes of Harry Kane and Dejan Kulusevski began as substitutes.

And though after the game Christian Stellini admitted that he had no regrets about the team he chose, specifically to leave his no.9 out of the starting XI.

05 Feb 2023 - Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Tottenham's Harry Kane during the Premier League match against Manchester City. Picture : Mark Pain / Alamy Live News 2N2KTXH 05 Feb 2023 - Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Tottenham's Harry Kane during the Premier League match against Manchester City. Picture : Mark Pain / Alamy Live News (Alamy Stock Photo)

"It is not a regret," he said. "We need to look in the medium period, we have many games.

"Harry Kane played in the last six games, one time with fever, one time with a problem. We have to take care of our best player.

"It's not about Harry because we played with Richarlison, Lucas Moura and Sonny. I think it is good enough to play in this competition and against this sort of team."

But, as per the Sun, the decision left Daniel Levy and co. 'fuming' at the apparent decision not to take the game too seriously.

"The board were furious with their approach, having expected a proper go at trying to win a first trophy in 15 years", they report.

Stellini later claimed that it was a 'mentality' problem that was standing between Tottenham and silverware, adding that "the approach was not good and it's not the mentality we need."

"We have to change from this starting point to the future. What happened in the past is done, finished. We have to start from now.

"I'm not here to analyse what happened in the last 10 years. I'm here to analyse what happens from now into the future."

Tottenham return to Premier League action against Wolves this weekend, before a second leg Champions League clash with AC Milan, where they must overturn a 1-0 deficit to head through.

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