Tottenham Hotspur energised by getting ‘help’ out of slump: Ange Postecoglou
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Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou celebrating after the 2-0 English Premier League win over Brentford on Feb 2.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LONDON – Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou is hoping his injury-ravaged squad are beginning to get the help they need after snapping a seven-game English Premier League winless run with a 2-0 victory at Brentford on Feb 2.
Spurs banished fears of being dragged into a relegation battle and eased the pressure on Postecoglou’s job, thanks to Vitaly Janelt’s own goal and a late Pape Matar Sarr strike, to move 10 points clear of the bottom three.
Tottenham can now concentrate on a huge week in the domestic cup competitions.
They travel to Liverpool defending a 1-0 lead
The club announced the signing of Austrian centre-back Kevin Danso from Lens before the game on Feb 2, while the BBC reported that Spurs have agreed a deal to sign French forward Mathys Tel from Bayern Munich, though it is unclear if it will be a loan or permanent move.
“It’s the same group of players who have to play Thursday and Sunday, and you can’t get away from the fact that playing Thursday and Sunday consistently without being able to rotate takes a toll,” said Postecoglou.
“The Premier League is relentless and you’re meeting teams who’ve had seven days’ break and we’ve had 48 hours.
“From that perspective, the pleasing thing is that we had Micky (van de Ven) back on Thursday, Djed (Spence) in today and we’ve signed Kevin. The group now are getting encouragement and energy from getting some help, and I have no doubt they’ll assist us in addressing our position in the league.”
Spurs hijacked a deal Wolverhampton Wanderers had in place to sign Danso, who joins initially on loan with an obligation to buy at the end of the season for €25 million (S$35.1 million).
Postecoglou’s first-choice centre-backs van de Ven and Cristian Romero have missed a large part of the season, while their backup Radu Dragusin is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a serious knee injury.
“It’s great to get Kevin in, we desperately needed a defender,” added Postecoglou.
“Getting him is great because he’s a great fit for us. He’s had a strong career and he’s at an age now (26) where he wants to kick on and he has all the attributes we look for. We’re really pleased and it will be a lift for the whole group.”
Brentford boss Thomas Frank, meanwhile, rued a missed opportunity at the Gtech Community Stadium on Feb 2.
He said: “We created more than enough to score at least one goal, and then it would have been a different game – that’s frustrating because it’s such small things that decide a match.”
“For example, their first goal... we hadn’t conceded from a corner all season. It happens – it is what it is – we had plenty of time to get back into the game but we couldn’t do that,” he added.
The first half was frantic at times but low on quality, with the deadlock broken when Spurs captain Son Heung-min’s whipped corner bounced in off Janelt as he was grappling with Yves Bissouma in the 29th minute. AFP, REUTERS
