Cristian Romero is the first Tottenham star to reveal how bitter divisions inside the camp sent last season into a tailspin.
Romero told how he returned after winning the World Cup with Argentina to find a split had formed between his team-mates and boss Antonio Conte and his staff.
This he identified as the root of trouble that left the club sinking to eighth and facing a season without European football for the first time since 2009-10.
Romero accepted his share of the blame, while pledging his future to Spurs and backing Ange Postecoglou to repair the damage, in a refreshingly candid interview while on pre-season tour in Australia and South East Asia, ‘After winning the World Cup, I came back and the group were somewhat separate from the staff,’ said the 25-year-old.