In a recent interview, Noel Whelan criticised the performance of Tottenham Hotspur centre-back pairing Eric Dier and Joe Rodon following Tottenham's latest Premier League defeat.

In Sunday's lacklustre 3-1 loss against Manchester United, both Dier and Rodon turned in less than inspiring displays for Mourinho's side, with the former earning a disappointing WhoScored match rating of 6.17, while the latter managed an almost equally poor 6.20 rating - ranking the pair as Jose Mourinho's second and third-worst starters respectively.

Speaking to Football Insider following the defeat, Whelan took aim at the Tottenham defensive duo, suggesting that it seemed as if the pair could not maintain their concentration for the course of the 90 minutes, before claiming that both players may not be Spurs-standard centre-backs.

He said: "You have to look at the players and their quality, have they got a good enough defence? Are the players concentrating enough? Obviously not. You work hard to take the lead and you can't back off, there's a real issue.

"Mourinho prides himself on his defence and the way he sets up, winning games 1-0. It doesn't seem to be happening at the minute, whether it's a lack of concentration from the players or just not enough quality in other areas. It seems to be in the centre of defence where they're having issues, they haven't got good enough players there and they can't concentrate for 90 minutes."

Transfer Tavern Take

With Tottenham's latest defeat meaning that Mourinho's side have now lost a whopping 18 points from winning positions in the Premier League, it would indeed seem as if there is a problem with the concentration levels in the Spurs backline, as Whelan suggests.

With the Portuguese manager making it abundantly clear that he would like to strengthen the centre of his defence in the upcoming transfer window, unless both Dier and Rodon - as well as Toby Alderweireld and Davinson Sanchez - can buck their ideas up sharpish, their collective futures under Mourinho would appear to be rather uncertain.

In other news: 'It may be' - Spurs target drops huge hint on transfer; Mourinho fascinated by 'remarkable' star - find out more here!