I would love to play for Ange Postecoglou, says former Spurs defender Ledley King

LONDON – Tottenham Hotspur kick off the weekend’s English Premier League fixtures with an early match on Saturday, hoping to go top for as long as possible before leaders Manchester City take on Arsenal on Sunday.

Spurs are in action at promoted Luton Town and will be full of confidence after five wins and two draws so far. One of only two unbeaten sides left alongside London rivals Arsenal, Ange Postecoglou’s men are just a point behind City.

The mood in the Spurs camp is high, and former centre-back and club ambassador Ledley King has said that he would “love to play” for the attack-minded Postecoglou because his team are free to “express themselves”.

“I’d love to play in this team,” the 42-year-old told TNT Sports.

“Whether you are a defender or an attacker, you want to play going forward, and you want your players to express themselves. When they play with great expression, that’s when they’re playing at their best.

“Postecoglou has a certain style of football that he wants to play and the players have taken to that and they enjoy training sessions. I see smiles on their faces while they’re working hard.”

It is still early in the season, but the Australian, 58, has received much praise after transforming Tottenham, who have scored 17 goals in seven league games.

Last weekend, they found it hard to overcome Liverpool, even though the Reds were down to nine men, but they never gave up and won 2-1 thanks to a Joel Matip own goal right at the end.

That victory was, however, marred by an incorrect VAR (video assistant referee) decision, which failed to award Jurgen Klopp’s side a goal and was the talk among fans and pundits for the entire week.

The Liverpool boss has called for a replay and when asked about his views on Friday, Postecoglou said: “The facts are Liverpool got a legitimate goal that wasn’t given, you have to think why did this happen.

“It was an error in communication, it was a mistake that cost Liverpool a goal.”

A replay is unlikely, however. With that aside, Spurs will be focusing on Saturday’s match and Postecoglou will aim to continue the record of his team having scored at least twice in all their Premier League games under his charge.

Luton have already conceded 14 goals in seven matches this season, an average of two per game which ties in nicely with Tottenham’s target.

“If we win we go top of the table, for what... 24 hours? But who cares? We’ve got to win, it’s a tough game tomorrow,” added Postecoglou.

He will be without the injured Manor Solomon, who is out for a lengthy period with a knee injury. Ivan Perisic, Ryan Sessegnon, Alfie Whiteman and Rodrigo Bentancur are also out, while Brennan Johnson is not fit.

Luton, in 17th place, were brought back down to earth with a 2-1 home loss to fellow promoted side Burnley in midweek.

This followed a 2-1 win at Everton – their only one all season – along with a 1-1 home draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers and five defeats, and they have gone nine games in all competitions without a clean sheet.

“It is a big game now at the weekend against a big, big team,” said manager Rob Edwards.

“So let’s pick ourselves up, get focused for that one. We need to believe in what we are doing.”