Friday 11 August 2017 10:16, UK
Paul Merson says Tottenham "need to change their ways" in the transfer market if they are to win the Premier League and backed Danny Rose's comments about the club.
Rose also suggested that he should be earning more money despite penning a new five-year deal last year and Merson says he agrees with the left-back, adding that Spurs need to up their game if they are to keep pace with their title rivals.
"I have no qualms with Rose. The only thing I would say is he should have gone to the manager rather than doing a five-page pull-out in the paper," the Soccer Saturday pundit said on The Debate.
"I think he should have sat down with the club, manager or director, and said 'I don't think I'm getting enough money in this day and age. I signed my contract at the time but time has moved on'. I think he deserves more money. I don't think he's wrong there at all.
"Tottenham need to change their ways, they are not big payers. Tottenham are becoming a big football team now, everybody is talking about Tottenham, rave reviews.
"And now they have to move up with the teams. They have always been fifth and in the shadow of Arsenal and they did not have to pay big wages.
"But now they are up there and they have to start doing it, but they are building a new stadium and that costs you money. So they are in a real sticky situation because all these players could go.
"They have not brought anybody in and I think something will happen at Tottenham in the next three weeks before the window shuts.
"Years ago only two or three clubs could pay big money, now they all can and Tottenham are getting left behind - right at the wrong time.
"If you had [asked] me at the beginning of the season who is going to win the league, I would have said Tottenham if they were playing at White Hart Lane, but all of a sudden this could all now get blown away."
Fellow guest Chris Kamara also had his say on Rose's comments, and believes the defender's comments have been influenced by the recent big-money move of Kyle Walker from Tottenham to Man City.
"He's looking at his mate Walker who has gone to Man City and has got almost treble the amount of money that he's on," he also told The Debate.
"He plays for England with him, he played for Spurs with him, he probably rooms with him and he probably knows every single penny that he's got. Kyle is probably saying to him 'if you can't get more money out of them, there's something wrong'."
