'They know exactly what they're doing!' - Dejan Kulusevski slams Tottenham's transfer activity with claim other clubs are more 'prepared'

Spurs slipped to an 18th Premier League defeat of the season on Monday after going down 2-1 to Nottingham Forest at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. It's been a difficult campaign for Ange Postecoglou's side who have been plagued by injuries to key players throughout the year and currently sit down in 16th place in the table.

Tottenham splashed out on the likes of Dominic Solanke, Archie Gray and Wilson Odobert in the summer transfer window but are on course for one of their worst-ever Premier League finishes. Kulusevski has been quizzed on his team's struggles for consistency and feels the club do not have a squad capable of coping with domestic and European competition.

He told reporters: "[The top clubs have] been doing it many years. They know exactly what they're doing. They're bringing in a lot of players that are ready to play both competitions. And they are prepared for it. This year we cannot say that we're prepared for it because we had so many injuries and we did a lot of things wrong from the beginning of the season and we're paying for it right now. After big nights like Thursday, you always go down. That's why teams who are in more competitions are paying [a price]. We're not handling it right, we're not handling it well. Because after 16 minutes we'd conceded three goals, with the offside goal. Then it's hard to win football games. It's not good enough. Then we played some good football but if you're not doing everything right, you will not win games."

Kulusevski made his first appearance since February against Forest and said he's in great shape ahead of the final few weeks of the season: "I felt great honestly. I'm so angry about the result but I've got to see the bigger picture: I'm back, I'm healthy and we've got important games coming up, so I've got to stay focussed. I took [my time out] so well because I had to accept it and I had more time to be with my daughter and wife, and do other things in life. I still worked extremely hard because I know that when you come back, it can be hard. But I did all the work necessary to feel good right now. I did everything right."

Tottenham head to Anfield next to face a Liverpool side on the brink of clinching the Premier League title. After that, it's a visit from Bodo/Glimt in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final tie.