Are Tottenham facing their real test of the season? Ange Postecoglou certainly doesn’t think so.
Postecoglou believes Tottenham have already passed plenty of tests this season – but he will not let the absence of nine first-team players at Wolves on Saturday offer up an excuse for a drop-off in performance.
Spurs suffered their first defeat of the Premier League campaign on Tuesday (AEDT) in a chaotic 4-1 home loss to Chelsea, which could have further consequences in the long test.
Ange Postecoglou spoke to the media as Tottenham prepare to face Wolves in the Premier League.
Are Tottenham facing their real test of the season? Ange Postecoglou certainly doesn’t think so.
Postecoglou believes Tottenham have already passed plenty of tests this season – but he will not let the absence of nine first-team players at Wolves on Saturday offer up an excuse for a drop-off in performance.
Spurs suffered their first defeat of the Premier League campaign on Tuesday (AEDT) in a chaotic 4-1 home loss to Chelsea, which could have further consequences in the long term.
Destiny Udogie and Cristian Romero were sent off during the London derby, while Micky van de Ven (hamstring) and James Maddison (ankle) suffered serious injuries that will rule them out until January.
Postecoglou, however, is no stranger to a challenge given Harry Kane’s departure on the eve of the new campaign.
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Ange Postecoglou’s hilarious response to a question from the English press about whether he will change tactics in Tottenham’s upcoming match against Wolves.
“My first test, yeah? Losing the greatest ever player in this competition the day before the start of the season? Nah, piece of cake,” Postecoglou pointed out sarcastically with a big grin.
“We lost players to almost season-ending injuries. Nah, don’t worry about it. Mate, there are tests all the time.
“In my whole career, I figured out there are only two states of being as a manager: under siege, or it’s coming. I’m well aware that every day nothing runs smooth. There’s always challenges out there.
“I just try and make sure I don’t change my state of being. It is what it is.
Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has refused to make excuses after his side lost key players to injury in their recent defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.
Postecoglou lost five players to injury in the game, including Cameron Carter-Vickers and James Maddison. However, he insists that his side will not be using this as an excuse for their performance.
“We’ve had plenty of reasons not to be where we are,” he said. “Plenty of excuses in terms of the disruptions we’ve had already and some of the challenges we’ve had to face. But fair to say we won’t be using any kind of reason for us not to perform at our best tomorrow.”
Postecoglou also defended his decision to play with a high line against Tottenham, which some pundits questioned.
“I don’t try and lose games purposefully, trust me,” he said. “I’m very much for trying to win a game of football. I get it’s slightly unconventional, that I kind of understand, but you don’t get from Australia to the Premier League by being conventional.
“And trust me, this isn’t the first time people have questioned my madness. It’s got me to where I am and I continue to do it because I believe we can win that way, not because of any other reason.”
Postecoglou also confirmed that Eric Dier is set to play a regular role in the team with Van de Ven injured until January and Romero suspended until next month.
“Eric has been part of this football club for a very long time,” he said. “Every day he’s another one who has trained hard. He hasn’t had a lot of opportunities, but that’s because we’ve been pretty settled in terms of our back four and we haven’t had the need to put him in there.
“He’s always been ready to be called up. Now he gets the opportunity. I thought he did well the other night. I thought he handled it really well. His experience will be important for us, particularly with Micky’s absence and Romero being out for three games.“
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