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Garth Crooks has said it was “about time” Tottenham defender Serge Aurier played in a respectful way like he did against Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Writing in his BBC Sport column, Crooks revealed Aurier has left him “desperately disappointed” and “angry” in the past because of the Ivorian’s performances and the way he has approached the Premier League.

Aurier made his first appearance of the season in the weekend’s 4-0 victory and provided two assists, setting up Patrick van Aanholt’s own goal Son Heung min’s excellent volley as Spurs ran riot before half-time.

The right-back was linked with an exit in the summer but a move failed to materialise, and he was given a chance to play on Saturday with no other right-backs available following a series of injuries.

And Crooks, who included Aurier in his team of the week, thinks Aurier’s display had been a long time coming.

“Every time I have seen Aurier play for Tottenham I have been left desperately disappointed and quite often angry,” Crooks wrote. “Disappointed because of his lack of performance and angry because of his inability to respect the depth of quality in the Premier League.

“This is not France where there are only a couple of decent teams in the league but the toughest and most demanding league in the world. Against Crystal Palace, the former Paris St-Germain defender woke up to that fact and finally played like it. And about time.”

Kyle Walker-Peters missed Saturday’s match with an ankle problem, while Juan Foyth – who played at right-back during pre-season – has also been nursing a foot injury.

If Walker-Peters doesn’t return this week, Aurier will probably start again when Spurs travel to Olympiacos in the Champions League on Wednesday.

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