Matt Doherty reveals the day his Tottenham career hit rock bottom

There was a moment, looking back, when Matt Doherty wondered if his Tottenham career could get any lower.

It was March last year and Spurs were in the last, grim throes of Jose Mourinho's reign. They had just lost to Arsenal. Doherty, by his own admission, did not play great. 

He sat on the bench four days later as Dinamo Zagreb knocked them out of the Europa League even though Spurs headed into the second leg with a two-goal lead.

That weekend the 21-man Tottenham squad travelled to play Aston Villa in the Premier League. It was Covid times, so managers could name nine substitutes alongside their starting XI.

Mourinho wanted to send a message after successive defeats so named some of the club's youngsters on the bench, 16-year-old pair Alfie Devine and Dane Scarlett. Doherty was the one travelling player to be left out.

'I went to get off the bus and Ledley [King], who was the coach at the time, said to me: 'You're not allowed in the changing room, you've got to stay on the bus',' says Doherty. 'It was Covid, so you weren't allowed in the changed room if you weren't in the squad.

'Once the game started, I was allowed to go into the stands. I was just sat on the bus on my own. It was the international break straight after and, genuinely, I was so close to just getting in a car and going to the international, you know? I think we were meeting in Manchester anyway. I didn't in the end, I decided I'd stay and watch the game and then go.

'I'm glad I didn't. It's just not that professional, is it, to do that? I know in your head you're sitting on the bus and thinking, ''What's the point in watching the game, I might as well go.'' There were kids - and that's no disrespect to the kids - but they were kids on the bench. 

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