Ange Postecoglou has not ruled out more outlandish tactical moves involving Pedro Porro or Dominic Solanke as he seeks to find a way for Tottenham to create without their creative midfielders.
The news that Dejan Kulusevski will be out for months following surgery on the patella in his right knee means Spurs head into Wednesday's Europa League final against Manchester United without any of their trio of creative midfielders James Maddison, Kulusevski and Lucas Bergvall, unless the latter makes a miraculous recovery from an ankle injury. The 19-year-old has only just stepped back on to the grass after having his protective boot taken off this week.
Some have suggested that rather than play with a more industrious midfield trio, Postecoglou could go for some more unusual solutions such as playing striker Dominic Solanke in a deeper number 10 role or bringing right-back Pedro Porro into a midfield role as the Spaniard has an eye for a pass and the ability to execute it.
When asked whether solutions like that were too out of the box so late in the planning stages before a big game, the Australian did not dismiss either of them.
"No I think it's all in the realms [of possibility]. When you're in this position you go through all the different scenarios. A lot of it will depend on seeing how we get through tomorrow night [at Aston Villa], see how people get through the game," he said. "There’s obviously a few players who will play tomorrow night who haven’t played regularly or a lot lately who will get an opportunity.
"There could be a performance tomorrow night that convinces me to go one way or another. You consider it all. At the same time, even if you do something radical, whether it’s a positional change, it’s always better done in the confines of having a real solid foundation there.
"Foundationally, we’re not going to change anything there in terms of the way we play, the way we set up for the most part. If you do that, if it's one positional change for a player then it still has a possibility of working."
He added: "You factor it all into it. I doubt you'd do a serious departure from what we have been doing in terms of our overall structure but at the same time you have to find solutions within the context of what we have available to give us the best chance of success.
"We've got to get through the game tomorrow night to see what the wash-up from that is. We can try a couple of things tomorrow night to see how they work and we've got to make our decisions from there."
Another player that Tottenham will be hoping to rely on in Bilbao next week is captain Son Heung-min who returned on the left for the final half hour against Crystal Palace on Sunday after missing seven matches with a foot injury. Son can create something out of nothing, but Postecoglou has not yet decided whether the South Korean star will start in the final against United.
"It’s absolutely fantastic to have him available. He has the experience and he does have that creative ability, but the game tomorrow night, we need to get him some match minutes and see how he is," said the head coach.
"I’ve never tried to look too far into the future in terms of what we might do, but if nothing else, this year has taught me that our planning is pretty much a day-to-day proposition. Let’s get through training today and let's get through the game tomorrow. Post-game tomorrow, we can start looking at those kinds of things."
On losing three creative players in the same part of the pitch, he said: "It gives you more of a challenge because they all play in that area, not exactly the same players but they're all creative types in midfield and have filled that role really well for us this year at different times.
"So, yeah, another challenge but that's been a constant for us. We've always had to try to find creative ways to cover the absences we've had and we'll find a way to do that again."
Kulusevski was injured less than 15 minutes into the defeat against Crystal Palace on Sunday as he turned awkwardly into a sliding challenge from England centre-back Marc Guehi. The initial prognosis was hopeful from the medical staff only for the Swede's knee to swell up the next day and it quickly became clear something was wrong.
"Just a collision with Marc Guehi, wasn’t even a foul, I don’t think. It looked like his knee hit Marc’s hip bone," said Postecoglou. "We had a look at the Vision [Spurs' video analysis system] and it’s just one of those things and bad luck.
"Not that we needed a reminder [of that], we’ve had plenty of evidence for it, but it also shows that you can plan as much as you like.
"But the idea of playing Pedro, Rodrigo and Dejan last week for 45 minutes. Pedro is very resilient, he's played every game this year and we were less concerned about him, Rodrigo the same and with him it was only going to be 45 and the same with Dejan.
"But with Dejan, it was more that he had not played and so it made sense for him to have a game. But as I said, if it's a muscle injury then you question did we do the right thing, but it’s something where he gets tackled 20 times a season and nothing happens. 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 tomorrow night."
With Friday night's trip to Aston Villa, the expectation was that Postecoglou would play a number of his key players to keep them ticking over so it will not have been almost two weeks since their last game when they take to the pitch against United. However, the injury to Kulusevski appears to have rocked the Australian somewhat and looks to be making him consider wrapping a few in cotton wool.
"Look, in a normal world you use this for sharpening up but we’re not living in a normal world," he said. "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.
"Villa are obviously going for Champions League football and you see how important it is to them and we’re doing the same."
Some have suggested that clubs selecting weaker teams for Premier League games is harming the 'integrity of the league' but Postecoglou dismissed that notion.
"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," he said. "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 gets 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."
So what comes next after the Villa match? What does the week entail leading up to a European Final? Postecoglou explained what the days following the trip to Villa Park will bring.
"We’ve kind of mapped it out. It’s a day-to-day proposition and a lot will depend on who plays and what I decide about tomorrow night and who plays and who doesn’t, then making sure the guys who don’t and will potentially be involved on Wednesday we get some good training into them because I think that’s important," he said.
"Our programme at the moment, all things being equal, we do the Villa game, won’t get back until late, Saturday will be a sort of rest day for the players, we'll train Sunday, a good session for us and then train here Monday morning and fly to Bilbao on Monday afternoon. Have a run on the pitch the night before and game Wednesday."
When asked if he has a special speech prepared for the final, he said: "My experience of those things, you’ve got to read the moment. It’s hard to pre-plan because it may be a catalyst for something that happens, whatever the need is for the players.
"My role is to take it day by day and try to read what the players really need. It’s about them and certainly once the Villa game is done our focus turns to the main game. Every day will be important in preparing the players for that and what they need and what that looks like intuitively I usually just go with my gut.
"There’ll be a couple of things planned we need to make sure we do and some of it is protecting the players, because there are a lot more demands. We’ve had media all week and I’m sure they’re getting inundated with ticket requests and a lot of it is logistically to make sure what we have around the players insulates them from being taken away from what’s important and that’s preparing for a big game."
