“We are not machines:” Tottenham player admits to exhaustion amidst hectic schedule

If you wanted more evidence that the Tottenham Hotspur players are demoralized and exhausted, look no further than to Son Heung-Min. The Korean attacker played 73 minutes in Spurs' 1-0 loss to Bayer Leverkusen at Wembley Stadium, and has been leaned on heavily in Harry Kane's absence to provide an offensive spark.

In post-game comments, Sonny made it clear that the players are knackered, and that nobody's more disappointed with the recent run of form than they are.

"It's very difficult. We want to try to play every game well, it's true, but we are not machines. Some days, everyone plays not good. We tried to play well, we're just disappointed.

"It's difficult to say. Every three days, we have a game, it's difficult, physically, also. We just did not have a good day."

The past few weeks we’ve talked a lot on this site about player rotation, injuries, and an absolutely insane period of matches. Opinions run the gamut: some say that football players should not be overly burdened by the idea of playing multiple games in a week. Others are adamant that fixture congestion is a real danger and hurts teams, as evident by teams like Liverpool and Chelsea looking strong and looking like title contenders while teams like Manchester City and Tottenham who are in Europe struggle.

Ultimately, the proof's in the pudding: Spurs are winless in all competitions since their big win over Manchester City, and still have perhaps the biggest match of all yet to come: this Sunday's trip to the Emirates to face Arsenal in the North London Derby.

Spurs can't control the schedule, and it looks as though this is going to be a game that the players are going to have to dig deep in order to get through. The sad reality is that it looks like nobody's feeling confident heading into this game. That's bad.

And yet, Spurs are still undefeated in the Premier League and are among the teams competing for a Premier League title. Bad Champions League loss and crappy run of form aside, that's a pretty good position to be in and while everyone's depressed, it's easy to lose sight of that.

With the international break coming after Sunday's match it may provide an opportunity for (most) players to rest, recuperate, and reintegrate into the squad. A healthy Toby Alderweireld and Harry Kane might just be the panacea that Spurs need to get the ship righted.