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Ange Postecoglou described Timo Werner's performance for Tottenham against Rangers as 'not acceptable' in a stinging assessment of his own player.

The Spurs boss singled out the German forward for criticism after an ineffectual first-half display in the 1-1 Europa League draw at Rangers.

Werner, on-loan from RB Leipzig, was taken off at half-time having lost possession of the ball 16 times and failing to win a single duel.

"He wasn't playing anywhere near the level he should," Postecoglou said in his post-match press conference.

"When you’ve got 18-year-olds it’s not acceptable to me. I said that to Timo. He’s a senior international, he’s a German international.

"In the moment we’re in right now, it’s not like we’ve got many options. I need everyone to at least be going out there trying to give the best of themselves.

"His performance in the first half wasn’t acceptable."

Postecoglou added: "We need everybody including him 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."

Werner's blank against Rangers meant his goal tally this season remained at just one from 19 appearances across all competitions.

Dejan Kulusevksi - who replaced Werner at half-time - struck in the 75th minute to earn Spurs a point at Ibrox after Hamza Igamane had opening the scoring.

It was far from a perfect performance from Tottenham, whose defensive issues were exposed once more.

In fact, Igamane's strike ensured Postecoglou's side had kept just one clean sheet from their last 11 games.

Rangers also finished the contest with more shots and shots on target than their Premier League counterparts despite having 41 per cent possession.

The display, especially defensively, left former Tottenham player Jamie O'Hara feeling like he's 'had enough'.

"My patience is wearing thin," O'Hara said on The Sports Bar.

"Patience is wearing thin. Ange Postecoglou, mate. I've had enough.

"You know, we go on and like, oh yeah, the football's great. Is it? Is it great?

“I'm not watching Barcelona. I'm just watching a good team, you know, in moments, have some decent spells, but you know, every team plays good football.

“It's not like I'm watching Barcelona play, but can't defend, but when we've got the ball, it's just, you know, it's brilliant to watch. All I'm watching is a Tottenham team that I've watched a million times before. Boring. There's nothing special.”

Postecoglou will hope Tottenham's winless run doesn't stretch to a sixth game on Sunday as they travel to lowly Southampton.

That is followed by a Carabao Cup quarter-final at home to Manchester United before Premier League leaders Liverpool visit on December 22 to round off a packed ten-day period.

Postecoglou added: "It's a big week for us this week. Southampton on Sunday is a massive game away and then we have Carabao Cup quarter-final at home against Man United and then Liverpool.

"It is a great week for us to build into. Thankful tonight everyone got through unscathed and we'll focus on Sunday now."

Tottenham are reportedly set to undertake a second review of their medical department as a result of the club’s ongoing injury woes.

The review will be the club’s second in under a year as they bid to prevent their season unravelling under a host of injuries, according to the Evening Standard.

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou has described the club’s injury crisis as the worst of his career ahead of Thursday’s crunch Europa League clash against Rangers.

Postecoglou is set to be without six players for the trip to Ibrox including defenders Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Ben Davies.

The club conducted a review of their medical department over the summer following Postecoglou’s concerns during his first season in north London.

The Australian was inundated with injuries last term which saw Spurs miss out on Champions League qualification.

Nick Davies was recruited as the head of sports science replacing the outgoing Geoff Scott while Adam Brett arrived from Brighton as director of performance services.

But it appears to be the same story for Postecoglou’s side who are again ruing the absences of Romero and Ven de Ven who picked up fresh injuries in Sunday’s 4-3 defeat to Chelsea.

Romero lasted just 14 minutes against Chelsea having pulled up with a thigh injury, while Van de Ven suffered another hamstring issue.

The same can be said for Wilson Odobert who continues his recovery after undergoing hamstring surgery in November.

Meanwhile, Richarlison remains on the sidelines with an undisclosed issue.

“I never think it's just bad luck,” Postecoglou said prior to Thursday’s trip to Glasgow.

“Some of it is. I've never lost a goalkeeper for this period of time before. But some of it is recurring, particularly this year in terms of guys coming back and re-injuring. It's something we're looking at.

“We're always trying to explore whether we can do things better. Last year was different to this year.

“Last year it hit us across the board. This year it's more guys that are coming back who are affected. Knock on wood, we've got a core group who are playing a lot and are getting through it ok. But it is something we are trying to address.”

Postecoglou previously admitted that his team’s high-intensity training and playing style could have a bearing on the club’s injury woes, but expected the issues to ease as the players adapt to his methods.

“A lot of the injuries are just the way we train and play,” he said last season. “It’s players, sports science staff and the medical team understanding that and making adjustments.

“In my experience, I see that the players’ bodies adjust and they become more resilient to it. There’s also a science to it that helps us along in that way.”

Jason Cundy relentlessly lobbed paper at his co-host Jamie O’Hara after Chelsea’s dramatic comeback win at Tottenham.

Spurs fans threw paper from a pre-match display in the stands at Chelsea players during the clash, causing small delays in the game - but their efforts to distract their opponents were in vain.

Despite Tottenham going 2-0 up inside 12 minutes after a breathless start, Chelsea won the London derby 4-3.

And of course, ex-Blues player Cundy grasped the chance to rinse his Spurs supporting co-host after the Sports Bar derby.

Coming on air on Monday night, Cundy began the show with one of his best ‘has anyone seen’ outbursts yet.

AJ Tracey and Chick-King caught a few strays along the way, and O’Hara was left with his head in his hands.

The tormenting wasn’t over there though.

Cundy then began chucking paper in the studio at O’Hara, just like the Spurs fans did to Chelsea players on Sunday.

The former Spurs midfielder tried to fight it at first but soon gave up.

“To dare is to do, who is responsible for that?!” Cundy laughed as the pair began analysing the performance.

“What is going on? Basically, Spurs are Chelsea’s punch bag.

“You’re basically Punch Bag FC. Punch Bag FC, Jay! You’re the biggest joke in football, you are.

“2-0 up, two gifts, and you can’t even bring a point Jay! You got battered mate, tickled your tummy then went bang to the ribs.”

He continued: “You are finding new ways to embarrass and disgrace the badge.”

Spurs had gone 2-0 up through Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski after Marc Cucurella slipped in the build up to both goals.

Jadon Sancho soon hit back to half the deficit from range, before Cole Palmer fired twice and Enzo Fernandez also found the goal in the second half.

Heung-min Son’s goal in the sixth minute of added time was merely the consolation in the end.

Spurs are now in the bottom half of the Premier League, sitting in 11th after one win in the last five.

“No one cares about Chelsea mate, you’re the most irrelevant football club,” O’Hara hit back at Cundy.

He continued: “At the moment it’s not going well with Ange [Postecoglou] and if he doesn’t change his in-game management, his tactics, or his plan, he’ll get the sack.

“It’s as simple as that.”

Tottenham defender Cristian Romero appears to have taken a thinly-veiled swipe at club chairman Daniel Levy.

Romero returned to the Tottenham line-up for Sunday's 4-3 loss to Chelsea after he'd missed the last four matches with a toe injury.

However, the Argentinian was forced off in the 15th minute when, according to Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou, he 'felt something in his quad' in a 'hugely disappointing' blow.

Two minutes after Romero went off, Chelsea winger Jadon Sancho scored to make it 2-1.

Enzo Maresca's side would score three more goals before Tottenham skipper Heung-min Son's consolation in second-half stoppage time.

With Tottenham now winless in their last four across all competitions and with one victory from their last seven, the heat is cranked up on Postecoglou.

However, Romero believes the pressure should be intensified on those working above the Australian, especially when considering the levels of investment from the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City.

When asked if Tottenham had fallen behind their top six rivals in terms of investment and squad strength to compete for titles, Romero told Telemundo Deportes: "The truth is, I would say no comment, but... Manchester City competes every year, you see how Liverpool strengthens its squad, Chelsea strengthens their squad, doesn't do well, strengthens again, and now they're seeing results.

"Those are the things to imitate. You have to realise that something is going wrong, hopefully, they realise it.

"The last few years, it’s always the same: first, the players, then the coaching staff changes, and it's always the same people responsible.

"Hopefully, they realise who the true responsible ones are, and we move forward because it’s a beautiful club that, with the structure it has, could easily be competing for the title every year."

Since Postecoglou arrived in July 2023, Tottenham have spent £348million on transfers.

Only three players signed by Postecoglou - Micky van de Ven, Dominic Solanke and Brennan Johnson - featured in Tottenham's starting line-up against Chelsea.

It is worth noting all five players who came off the bench for Tottenham - Radu Dragusin, James Maddison, Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall and Timo Werner - were also signed under Postecoglou.

Despite the expenditure with Postecoglou at the helm, it has yet to translate into material success.

However, the same could be said for just about every manager who has sat in the dugout since Levy became a member of the Tottenham board in December 2000.

In that time, Tottenham have won a solitary trophy: the League Cup in 2008.

It took until the 2009/10 season for Tottenham to qualify for the Champions League.

Tottenham have also failed to finish higher than 4th since the 2018/19 campaign, which proved to be Mauricio Pochettino's final full season in charge.

Given the stature of the club and their membership in the so-called 'Big Six', more is expected of Tottenham.

It appears Postecoglou will be given the opportunity to turn things around, as talkSPORT understands the Australian is not under immediate threat of being sacked.

The loss to Chelsea dropped the north London outfit into the bottom half of the table, which has sparked supporters' fury.

But Levy is understood to be more content to stick rather than twist and is aware Postecoglou has been hit with injuries to several key players.

Postecoglou and Tottenham have the chance to break the winless streak when they travel to Ibrox for a Europa League clash against Rangers on Thursday.

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou is NOT under immediate threat of the sack, talkSPORT understands.

Spurs have dropped into the bottom half of the Premier League table after losing seven of their 15 Premier League games this season.

Their latest setback came at the hands of London rivals Chelsea on Sunday when they lost 4-3 despite going 2-0 up after 11 minutes.

Chairman Daniel Levy is aware Spurs have been hit by injuries to key players and willing to give Postecoglou more time to turn their fortunes around.

The Australian would also like funds in the January transfer window to strengthen the squad.

Spurs have just one win to their name in their past seven matches in all competitions which was their 4-0 thumping of Manchester City.

Draws have come against Roma and Fulham since then, with defeat at home to Chelsea sealing back-to-back losses.

It came three days after they were beaten 1-0 away at Bournemouth and fan tensions began to boil over at full-time.

Postecoglou was booed when he went towards the travelling supporters, with two stewards standing between him and the crowd.

"They're disappointed and I got some pretty direct feedback, which is always healthy mate," he told talkSPORT afterwards.

Spurs surrendered a 2-0 lead and lost in a Premier League match for the 11th time in their history on Sunday against Chelsea.

It's the second time they have done so this season, with the first occasions coming away at Brighton when they ultimately lost 3-2.

Postecoglou opted to name Cristian Romero and Mickey van de Ven in his starting XI against Chelsea following their recent absences.

However, Romero was withdrawn after just 15 minutes of play and Van de Ven also went off with an injury later in the match.

Guglielmo Vicario, Richarlison, Wilson Odobert and Mikey Moore are already notable absentees in north London.

Postecoglou has the opportunity to return to winning form when they face Rangers in the Europa League on Thursday, live on talkSPORT.

Simon Jordan believes Tottenham's recent woes have 'nothing to do with the owner'.

Sunday's capitulation against Chelsea followed another loss after leading 2-0 against Brighton back in October.

The result leaves Spurs 11th in the Premier League after winning just one of their last seven matches in all competitions.

Meanwhile, some fans have called for Daniel Levy to leave the club after 23 years.

He is currently the longest-serving chairman in the league, having been in the role since 2001.

Jordan has now given his thoughts on the calls for a change at the club.

The talksSPORT co-host told White & Jordan: "Who's going to buy Tottenham and pay four billion quid that Joe Lewis and Daniel Levy will want?

"How does it work when you get someone in the door? Because it's working really well at the moment with Manchester United and Jim Ratcliffe, this new intellectual capital that's coming in.

"Just what happened on the field against Chelsea and Brighton has nothing to do with the owner. That's to do with the manager and what he decides to do in the game.

"Now, I do agree that in order for Tottenham to be more competitive, and you go back to the seasons when they'd lost the Champions League final, the argument is, why didn't they back it then?

"People came out, David Pleat sat in the studio and said it was nothing to do with Levy.

"It was to do with Mauricio Pochettino didn't want any new players. Pochettino sings a different song.

"The bottom line is, is if you don't win anything and you're commercially a very successful football club and you built a wonderful stadium, you're going to be sat in a situation where people like Jamie Carragher or anybody else, or even the Tottenham fans that have their moments with Daniel Levy, are going to sit there and say, time for a change."

Levy has overseen Spurs' move to a new training ground and stadium during his tenure.

The club have also won the League Cup and qualified for the Champions League six times since his arrival.

However, doubts remain over the conveyor belt of managers to have failed to end the 16-year trophy drought dating back to 2008.

Current boss Ange Postecoglou is the 12th manager appointed by Levy in the last 23 years.

The Australian is also under pressure after his side's recent poor form.

Following the home defeat to Chelsea, Postecoglou admitted he cannot ask for patience amid their downturn in results.

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'Don’t worry about a thing' read the small placard held up by a Chelsea fan to Cole Palmer and his celebrating teammates after the final whistle.

Why worry when you have Palmer, second only to Mohamed Salah as the best player in the Premier League?

Why worry when you’re playing a team as inconsistent and brittle as Tottenham Hotspur, who you’ve beaten in five of your last seven visits? Lads, it’s Spurs.

Why worry when Tottenham send on teenagers in Archie Gray (however promising) and Lucas Bergvall and you send on LaLiga champions (in Joao Felix)?

Why worry when the Spurs head coach, Ange Postecoglou, is gambling on the fitness of his best two centre-backs, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romeo, who fail to finish the game?

Why worry when you have your own coach in Enzo Maresca who has the strength of personality and tactical nous to keep a collection of big names happy?

Why worry when you have a winning culture that Spurs lack, a culture embodied by Palmer?

Chelsea’s No.20 was the calmest person within this magnificent stadium, a symbol of all the control and sustained excellence lacking in Spurs.

He made light of Yves Bissouma’s attempt to shackle him. He scored twice, both nerveless penalties, the second a majestic Panenka that floated mockingly into the net as Fraser Forster dived into thin air.

Palmer delivered an assist, reaching 50 goal involvements in his 48 Premier League games for Chelsea (33 goals, 17 assists).

He's an entertainer, a team player, and above all a winner.

He’s leading the Chelsea chase of Liverpool. Palmer and Maresca may play down Chelsea’s title chances but they are very real.

If Chelsea had a better goalkeeper than Robert Sanchez, another elite-level centre-back and a fit Reece James, they could challenge Liverpool more closely.

Liverpool are rightly favourites but Chelsea have Maresca juggling his talented squad well; Pedro Neto and Jadon Sancho as diligent out of possession as they are in, they have Enzo Fernandez rediscovering form, and they have Palmer.

Even when Spurs took a two-goal lead within 11 minutes, Palmer never panicked. He kept his nerve just as his teammate Marc Cucurella failed to keep his footing.

Chelsea’s left-back was wearing the wrong length studs, and slipped as Brennan Johnson sped down the right and crossed for Dom Solanke to get across Levi Colwill to score. Cucurella slipped again and Dejan Kulusevski slalomed through to score.

Cucurella changed his boots and promptly sent Sancho weaving in from the left to pull a goal back. Palmer was already gracing the game with his elegant touches and swift movement and the tide turned.

Anthony Taylor’s desire to let a derby flow was commendable but he really should have taken action for Moises Caicedo’s studs-up challenge on Pape Sarr and then Kulesevski’s glancing elbow on Romeo Lavia, who’d earlier been booked for fouling the Swede.

There was so much entertainment that it was also tempting to laugh at the Premier League match centre posting: “VAR checked for a potential red card following a challenge by Caicedo on Sarr and confirmed the referee’s call of no serious foul play”.

Nonsense. Caicedo deserved red. So did Kulusevski. Neither received even yellow.

Howard Webb’s next ‘Match Officials mic’d up' show should be interesting. Actions that risk injuring an opponent have to be stopped.

Lavia did not appear for the second half, nursing a hamstring, and Malo Gusto came on at right-back with Caicedo moving into midfield.

Caicedo raced into the box and was brought down, almost comically, by Bissouma in one of those challenges best described as 'got there as quickly as he could'.

Palmer duly sent Forster the wrong way. Palmer then dribbled past Destiny Udogie, Van de Ven, Pape Sarr and Bissouma before the ball deflected to Fernandez, who had ghosted past Kulusevski into the area.

Fernandez caught the ball on the half-volley and gave Forster no chance. Spurs players looked around in frustration. Kulusevski looked at his boots, picking out some loose blades of grass.

And why worry when Spurs’ marking and challenging is poor? Palmer was dribbling away from goal when caught by Pape Sarr. The penalty was clear, and all that remained was for Palmer to dink it past Forster. Son Heung-Min scored a very late consolation third for Spurs but Chelsea were deserved winners.

There was no dissent towards Postecoglou at the final whistle, mainly because so many Spurs fans had left.

Postecoglou says he 'can’t rotate', and keeps relying on a small group of players who then become vulnerable to fatigue or injury.

That’s partly down to the club’s recruitment, spending so much on the long-term promise of youth, rather than battle-ready 26-year-olds.

But it’s also a question of mentality, and Postecoglou observed there was a 'sense of desperation' about his team when the game started to slide.

They need more fighters and leaders (and more like the excellent Pedro Porro).

Postecoglou will bear the brunt of the criticism but it's a problem of culture at Spurs. They lack Chelsea’s fortitude.

And, unlike Chelsea, they should worry.

Heung-min Son has called for Tottenham teammates and fans to pull together after yet another disappointing game for them.

Spurs surrendered a two-goal lead on their way to being beaten 4-3 at home on Sunday afternoon.

Despite Son's late goal, Ange Postecoglou's side were unable to salvage a point as their poor form continued.

The defeat means Spurs have now won just one of their last seven Premier League matches.

As a result, they have slipped to 11th in the table and are seven points adrift of the top four.

Speaking after the match, Son gave an emotional interview as he called for togetherness from all those associated with the club.

The Spurs captain told Sky Sports: "It's very disappointing. I don't know what to say at the moment.

"We conceded very sloppy goals. It feels like we lost because of these small details. On such a big stage, you need to step up and score in these moments.

"I feel like I let the team down and I feel very sorry for the team."

He continued: "We can't concede goals like this. We can't dive into this situation. I can stay here all day talking about the mistakes but I'd rather blame me with the chance and I'd rather take the blame.

"I had a bit of a different thinking when I was running to the ball. I'm also human and I miss. I feel the pain because it's such an important moment of the game. The team tried.

"We got to stick together in such difficult moments, it's very important and it's why we need big support.

"The players are very young and they need support more than before and more than we had. The fans were always supporting amazingly but I think it's time the players also need to step up.

"We need some big support and big cheering up."

Son had scored his third league goal of the season to provide some late hope after four unanswered goals from the visitors.

However, the Blues held on to close the gap to leaders Liverpool to four points.

Spurs will be hoping for a response away to Scottish giants Rangers in the Europa League on Thursday night.

Meanwhile, their next league match is a trip to Southampton on Sunday.

Son's call for support at home will have to wait over a week, though, with Spurs hosting Manchester United in the Carabao Cup on December 19.

Jadon Sancho has emerged as a Chelsea fan favourite following his antics in their 4-3 win at Tottenham.

The winger scored the Blues' first goal of the evening as they came from behind to win all three points in a hectic London derby.

Sancho fired in with a stunning strike and, although it helped spark Chelsea back into life, fans have loved what he did later in the match.

After Enzo Fernandez put them 3-2 ahead with a fine finish, Sancho ran over to the away end to celebrate with the travelling fans.

He the picked up the corner flag, which has the Spurs badge printed on it, in front of him and threw it onto the ground with a grin.

It's a moment that many may have missed amid the celebrations but Chelsea fans on social media delighted in Sancho's actions.

It's a moment that many may have missed amid the celebrations but Chelsea fans on social media delighted in Sancho's actions.

Taking to X, one happy supporter said: "Oh I love him so much,"

"Sanch been propa Chelsea since day 1," added a second.

A third said: "Sancho man of the match for me."

"Sancho throwing away the Spurs corner flag, he's a real Chels," added a fourth.

Sancho's goal was his second for Chelsea since signing on loan from Manchester United in the summer.

It came just four days after he netted his first in their 5-1 thrashing of Southampton, although this one proved more crucial.

Chelsea fell behind after five minutes when their former striker Dominic Solanke scored following a Marc Cucurella slip.

Dejan Kulusevski doubled Spurs' lead moments later with a low and slow strike that nestled into the bottom corner.

Sancho responded in the 17th minute with an excellent finish from outside the area ahead of Chelsea's second half turnaround.

Cole Palmer equalised with a penalty after a rash Yves Bissouma foul on Moises Caicedo on the approach to the hour mark.

Enzo Fernandez fired the Blues ahead for the first time shortly after, doing so with a well-executed half-volley.

Palmer sealed all three points with an exquisite Panenka penalty that Spurs goalkeeper Fraser Forster could only watch as it went in.

The hosts scored a consolation through Heung-min Son in stoppage time as Chelsea ran out as winners in north London.

Spurs will also have to deal with injuries to Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven, who both returned to the line-up after recent absences.