Ange Postecoglou has told his Tottenham Hotspur players to leave the club if they aren't willing to buy into his philosophy. The Australian coach continued highlighting his issues with his squad's mentality after giving a grim verdict of Timo Werner after a 1-1 draw against Rangers in the Europa League.
The Spurs boss laid into Werner in a remarkable post-match press conference and said the German attacker's performance wasn't acceptable. The Telegraph reports that Werner is one of several Spurs players whom the Australian coach and his backroom staff are demanding improvement.
Postecoglou also exchanged words with Pedro Porro after the draw in Glasgow, while veteran goalkeeper Fraser Forster, Son Heung-min and James Maddison also struggled to impress at Ibrox. It's a worrying situation in North London, with Tottenham sitting 11th in the Premier League and without a win in their last five outings across competitions.
Senior players have been informed that more is expected of them amid a poor run of form that has cast doubts over Postecoglou's own future. He made clear he expected more from his troops when reflecting on the game against Rangers:
Last night wasn’t about Timo Werner, it’s the situation we’re in. There are other players who could also give more to what we were trying to do last night. I just felt last night, because he hasn’t played a lot, there should have been some freshness around him.
He added:
We need everybody including him [Werner] to be contributing. Because we don’t have the depth to leave people out if they’re performing poorly. We need them to play their part. Especially the senior guys. When I’m asking younger guys to do massive jobs, I expect a level of performance from some of the senior guys. And today wasn’t that.
Ange Postecoglou wants more from his Spurs squad
Spurs have a tough set of fixtures on the horizon
Postecoglou is feeling the heat as Spurs continue to falter domestically and in Europe. The draw against Rangers leaves them sitting ninth in the Europa League standings and without a win in the competition since a 1-0 win over AZ Alkmaar in late October.
Next up for the Lilywhites is a trip to St Mary's tomorrow to face a struggling Southampton side they'll be expected to beat. Anything less than a victory over the Saints will only heap more pressure on Postecoglou and his players.