James Maddison has hit back at the backlash he and Brennan Johnson have received after they were spotted at Alexandra Palace watching the World Darts Championship, hours after drawing 2-2 with Wolves.
Maddison came off the bench for Tottenham against Wolves while Ange Postecoglou’s side were leading, only for a late Jorgen Strand Larsen finish to stop Spurs from ending a disappointing run of form in December.
Having played nine matches in the month, Spurs have won just two of those in all competitions, with the pressure piling on Postecoglou’s position as a result.
Related articles
They lost more points from a winning position, having taken a 2-1 lead thanks to goals from Rodrigo Bentancur and Johnson, and hours after being pegged back the Welshman and Maddison were seen enjoying the festivities at Ally Pally.
They watched an evening session that saw Robert Owen defeat Ricky Evans, Gerwyn Price overcome Jonny Clayton and defending world champion Luke Humphries go out to Peter Wright.
And some Spurs supporters were unhappy that two of their players were seen out and smiling after their disappointing result, with the PDC posting a photo of Maddison on their Instagram page.
Several comments expressed their disappointment at the England football team man, with @spursynews among them, writing: “U taking the p***? The form were(sic) in and U go to the darts?? Unacceptable.”
Only for Maddison to immediately fire back, replying: “Shut up u wally”, accompanied by a laughing emoji.
There were several comments in support of Maddison, insisting that there was no reason for he and Johnson to cancel their planned trip to Ally Pally solely because Spurs’ form had slipped.
Neither player had training in the morning, with Postecoglou confirming that he had given the entire squad two days off in order to help rest and recuperate following a busy fixture schedule.
"It was always planned,” Postecoglou explained. “We knew this is the first week where we don't have a midweek game, so I think the whole group probably needs a couple of days just to get away from everything and recover.
"It'll do them good to have a couple of days to themselves with their families and give them a chance to recover mentally as much as physically."
Postecoglou will be hoping that his stretched squad will be able to find another gear after some time off before they return for the visit of Newcastle to north London on Saturday.
"It hurts me because I'm responsible ultimately,” Postecoglou added after winning just one in seven Premier League games. “I'm the person in charge. So of course it hurts.
"When I see how hard they are trying, it hurts even more because you want them to get a reward and I think today they deserved a reward for their efforts even though they were dipping into their reserves of energy, which I don't even know where they got from. I wanted them to get a reward for their efforts.”
