Tottenham Hotspur
Ange Postecoglou spoke to the media at Hotspur Way on Friday, ahead of our Premier League clash against Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday (2pm UK).
Here's what he had to say...
Ange on our latest team news...
"There are a couple still sore from midweek (at Arsenal), just waiting to see how Brennan (Johnson) is, he's got a bit of a calf complaint, and Biss (Yves Bissouma) has been sore as well, so just waiting for information on them. Coming back, Ben Davies should be involved."
On criticism of the team's intensity at Arsenal - physical or mental?
"Could be a bit of both. Especially first half we were way too passive in our approach, with and without the ball. We allowed Arsenal to dictate the game and set the tempo. We weren't really able to make an impact in the way we wanted to. Second half was a bit better but ultimately it cost us."
On the transfer window...
"The Club is working hard as it can and that's all you can ask for. January's not an easy month but I do know a lot of work is being done behind the scenes to try to get some reinforcements in. It is tricky as all clubs are finding. And I guess traditionally it ramps up in that final week so we're approaching there for all clubs. It's even trickier in January because one you try to acquire a player, the club wants to replace that player. So there's all sorts of logistics involved."
On Antonin Kinsky's performance against Arsenal and his three appearances so far...
"It’s fair to say we have thrown him in at the deep end. He has had three pretty big challenges in different ways. He is certainly gaining experience very quickly, when you look at the games he has played and the challenges within that. I think he has handled it really well. I said from day one, he is a very assured young man. From a goalkeeping aspect, he has all the attributes we are looking for and feel would be a good fit for us. Like I said, we have thrown him in at the deep end but we will get enormous benefit from that."
On David Moyes' return as Everton manager...
"No, not surprised, he showed at West Ham he is still at the top of his game and is a fantastic manager. I think longevity is a measure of your capabilities particularly when you think of how long he has managed in the Premier League itself and he has made an impact at the clubs he has been at. I’m delighted to see him back because it means I’m not the oldest in the Premier League anymore! If we can get Roy (Hodgson) off a beach somewhere I will be even happier. Glad to have him back. He’s a top guy too. I remember he reached out to me when I was at Celtic a couple of years ago. Top guy, David, and great to have him back."
On hurting after losing the derby in midweek...
"Look, I’m sure they are. As I said after the game it’s not acceptable for a club like ours to have that many defeats in a season. Irrespective of the context of the situation we are in, I just feel as much as the defeat on Wednesday night, it was also about the performance in the first half I just felt we didn’t do ourselves justice. I’m sure the players are hurting. Whether the players are hurting or I’m hurting it’s kind of irrelevant. The supporters are hurting. We are the only ones who can change that."
On a challenging season...
"Every season has challenges. I haven’t experienced the kind of injuries or player absences we’re currently going through. Every year is a different challenge, this is certainly a big one and my job is to make sure we get through it."
On still being in three cup competitions and being confident we can succeed...
"It’s not about confidence, but I have great belief we can make a big impact, for sure. Not withstanding that, we still need to be better and more consistent in the league, irrespective of how we do in the cup competitions. One can feed into the other, for sure. We need to go to Everton on Sunday knowing we have European and cup football after that and improvement in the league can help us."
On Fraser Forster's fitness...
"He is back in training, doing his first full training sessions."
On having to play Pedro Porro, despite the full-back playing so many minutes...
"At the moment, yes. We’ve obviously got some alternatives there with Djed and Archie able to play there. All of the guys at the back are doing a hell of a job for us considering our limited options. Hopefully, getting Benny (Davies) back gives us another option and then Romero and van de Ven, but up until that point, for guys like Pedro, Archie and Radu and the main ones, they have to keep soldiering on and doing a job."
On Archie moving to midfield following Ben's return...
"We don't have that luxury. I certainly don't have that luxury at the moment. Getting Benny back is great, but we're still pretty short defensively. We've still got a lot of games even before Micky and Romero and certainly Destiny are back into the fold. So we're still down to minimum numbers. Archie will continue to do what he's been doing. He's been contributing every game and wherever that may be for the team he will do that to his best."
On Lucas Bergvall looking stronger...
"I think it's been a consequence of the minutes, but also just his growth as a player and getting used to it and at 18, their body's developing. They're still getting used to the levels and he's certainly got a great capacity to work hard for sure and you've seen that in the last couple of games and that's great for us because again with Rodri out and we'll see how Biss is now, he's going to be needed."
On falling behind in terms of European qualification...
"I just don't look at things like that. Ultimately, we've got to win games of football and that starts on Sunday. We've got to go to Everton, try and win and get three points and then focus on Europe (Hoffenheim away in Germany next week) after that. To look at what's beyond that right now, it serves no purpose for me or anyone else. Where we end up is going to be where we end up, whether that's realising our goals, ambitions or falling short, time will tell."
On if not qualifying for Europe would be a major problem...
"Again, you're asking me to talk about something that's just not in my brain space. I mean, we'll get to that point if we get to that point. We may never get to that point and it's irrelevant me talking about it or we may get to that point and then I'll look at it, but right now there is nothing more important than than us making sure we put in a strong performance at Everton."
On squad depth...
"Look, it depends on and it is constantly a moving kind of picture with these things. If everyone comes back and stays back and fit, we have players who have missed a fair bit of football, guys like Wilson (Odobert) who has hardly played. Is he going to come back and hit the ground running? You just don’t know with these things. Romero, van de Ven, Destiny have all had significant disruptions, Bentancur has been in and out, we've lost Timo for a bit now. There are all these kind of moving parts where you just don’t know. Where we sit right now, I think we all know we need some reinforcements and it’s about trying to make that happen if we can in this window."
On Timo...
"He’s had a scan and he’s got a hamstring tweak, so probably three to four weeks (out) I think."
On not playing James Maddison and Deki Kulusevski in the midfield three as much as earlier in the season...
"There's good reason, we were without a striker and I had to play Deki there, a lot of decisions we’ve had to make have been to try to plug the holes we’ve got and shifted players around to try to manage their load as well. Whilst we’ve had a lot of injuries, we’ve also asked a lot of players during this period and we’ve had to try and find ways to manage how much they play, so we don’t lose anyone else. We’ve sort of half got away with it I hope, but even for guys like Brennan, he picked up a tweak off the back of trying to manage his load over the last two months. It has been a big shift for the players in there."
