Ex-Tottenham midfielder Victor Wanyama admitted that he was “really pissed off” not to start last seasons Champions League final defeat against Liverpool and even struggled to sleep after finding out he would be on the bench.
With Harry Winks ruled out with a groin problem that led to him having surgery, the Kenyan midfielder came into the side for Spurs’ final six Premier League games as Mauricio Pochettino’s men squeezed into the top-four at the expense of their rivals Arsenal.
Wanyama also started the 4-3 defeat against Manchester City in the quarter-final second leg before finding himself in the starting XI for both legs in the last-four success over Ajax.
Understandably, the 28-year-old could have been forgiven for thinking that he’d be given the nod for over Winks, who hadn’t played competitively for almost two months, in the final. However, Pochettino went with a familiar midfield pair of Winks and Moussa Sissoko, meaning Wanyama had to settled for a place amongst the substitutes.
In an exclusive interview with The Athletic, Wanyama said: “I was really, really pissed off not to start that game. And even more pissed off because we didn’t win. I tried to encourage those who played.
“We went back to the hotel after the game. I couldn’t sleep at all. The situation was going around in my head.
“My brother Mariga was also on the bench in a Champions League final for Inter Milan against Bayern Munich [in 2010].
“He had to sit on the bench for the full game, so he could relate and understood what I was going through.”
