The Tottenham boss confirmed latest injury casualty Dejan Kulusevski is out for “months” with a knee injury and Spurs are now less than a week from their Europa League final with Manchester United
Ange Postecoglou insists he will not take any more fitness gambles - because Tottenham’s own Champions League hopes are on the line. Postecoglou angrily dismissed any notion that he is damaging the “integrity” of the Premier League by fielding a potentially weakened team at Aston Villa.
The Tottenham boss confirmed latest injury casualty Dejan Kulusevski is out for “months” with a knee injury after he played against Crystal Palace last Sunday and Spurs are now less than a week from their Europa League final with Manchester United. Postecoglou served a reminder Tottenham can potentially win their first trophy in 17 years and also earn a passport into next season’s Champions League.
Villa are still chasing a place in the top five with the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Newcastle so they will all be watching Tottenham with interest. Postecoglou said: “Villa are obviously going for Champions League football and you see how important it is to them and we’re doing the same.
“Look, in a normal world you’d be using this to sharpen up but we’re not living in a normal world. That’s the reality of our existence at the moment where we can’t lose another player to an injury. It’s just too finely balanced for us considering what’s at stake.
“That seems to be our lot at the moment and even with the best planning, we’re still getting hit with these setbacks and from my perspective I’ve got to take that into account when considering the game.”
Postecoglou doubled down on the accusations about “integrity” and served up a reminder how some fans wanted to lose against Manchester City last season if it meant stopping bitter rivals Arsenal winning the title.
Postecoglou added: “I'm not sure what people are talking about when they talk about the integrity of the game - I don't know what that means. We have certainly put out teams this year that because of our injury situation were not the strongest we needed to put out there but we still needed to play those games and it's the same with other clubs.
"I don't even know why that question is being asked if I'm honest because if anyone thinks we are going to go out there and not do our absolute best to win - that's the only time when integrity is questioned.
"When we played Man City last year and apparently I was in the wrong for trying to win a game of football that's where integrity comes into it, that's why I was so strong on it.
"When you put a line-up out there you are trying to win a game of football but at the same time every club has got its own interests and you have to prioritise what's important for your club.
"Champions League is very important for all those clubs fighting for it at the moment, I can see how important it is and every game and every decision is crucial but we are in exactly the same boat. We have got Champions League qualification plus a trophy to win. It would be negligent of me if I wasn't doing the best thing for our football club to make sure we achieve that.”