JAMES MADDISON and Brennan Johnson were spotted playing darts at Ally Pally just hours after Tottenham's 2-2 draw with Wolves.
Ange Postecoglou's men conceded a late equalizer in north London before the Australian coach confirmed his struggling stars were “hurting”.
The Spurs players have been given Monday and Tuesday off to recover from a demanding Christmas period, which has seen them play 10 games since November 28.
And Maddison and Johnson – who scored Spurs' second goal against the relegation battlers – shrugged off their disappointment and headed to the darts to watch the likes of Luke Humphries, Gerwyn Price and Peter Wright.
The pair could be seen laughing from their tables as they took in the raucous Ally Pally atmosphere.
Maddison, 28, is known to be a big fan of the sport and often pretends to throw a dart after scoring a goal.
But it has been a tough time for Spurs after just one win in seven Premier League games.
After the match, Postecoglou said: “It hurts me because ultimately I am responsible. I'm the person in charge. So of course it hurts.
“When I see how hard they try, it hurts even more because you want them to get a reward. I think today they deserved a reward for their efforts, even though they are drawing on their energy reserves, which I don't even know .” know where they come from.
'I wanted them to be rewarded for their efforts.
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“It hurts like hell. At the same time, it's my responsibility for where we are now and it's my responsibility to try to get us out of it.”
The Spurs boss also explained why he is giving the players two days off.
He added: “It was always planned. We knew this is the first week where we don't have a midweek game, so I think the whole group probably needs a few days to get away from everything and recover.
“It will be good for them to have a few days to themselves with their family and give them a chance to recover both mentally and physically.”
Spurs have now failed to win at home in their last five league games – an undesirable feat not achieved since 2008.
While seven wins in nineteen league games means they are one point closer to the relegation zone than the top four.
However, Postecoglou still believes that his team can achieve something in the competition this season.
The Aussie, whose team has progressed to the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup and is still in Europe, added: “I feel at some point we will get a relatively healthy squad and when we do, we will we are able to perform at the same level.” consistently high level and we have already shown this year that we can beat anyone.
'There's a chance you can go for a run there.
“But at the moment that is secondary to the first part. We have to try to get some support for the players – both mentally and physically and in terms of numbers, to give them the opportunity to play at their best.”
Meanwhile, Rodrigo Bentancur has now been ruled out of Saturday's hosting of Newcastle after an unnecessary injury-time foul on Rodrigo Gomes earned him his fifth yellow card of the season.
If he had waited a week, the warnings from the first half of the campaign would have been wiped out.
Postecoglou added: “It was an unfortunate moment, it didn't really have to happen and I would have much preferred him not to make that tackle and be available for the next game.
“The players are clearly hurting, they want to turn this around and it's not because they don't want to try.”
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