‘Welcome to my world’, Ange Postecoglou tells injury-ravaged Manchester United

LONDON – Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou said he could sympathise with Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim’s injury problems after beating the Red Devils 1-0 on Feb 16 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

In a clash between two sides who have drastically underachieved this season, James Maddison’s goal was enough to take Spurs above United into 12th in the English Premier League.

Amorim’s men sink to 15th and there is little cause for optimism for the Portuguese, after Amad Diallo and Lisandro Martinez were ruled out until the end of the season.

United were also missing Manuel Ugarte, Christian Eriksen, Kobbie Mainoo and Luke Shaw for the visit to north London, leaving Amorim to field eight teenagers on his nine-man bench.

Postecoglou’s second season at Tottenham has been ravaged by injuries. Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Dominic Solanke were again absent, but Maddison and goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario’s return helped secure a first home league win since November.

“I could see today Ruben had to put a team together, players out of position, kids on the bench,” said Postecoglou.

“Welcome to my world and that’s for one game. Now do that for two months, for any club.”

Major injuries have been a theme of the Premier League season. Defending champions Manchester City have declined rapidly without Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, while Arsenal must mount a title challenge without any recognised strikers.

Postecoglou has faced criticism that his training methods and intense playing style have contributed to Spurs’ severe injury crisis.

But the Australian believes more sides will suffer a similar fate as fixture congestion piles an extra load onto fatigued bodies.

“We’re not going to be the only ones. I’ve foreshadowed this for a while. There will be a few that come to my world in the next period and people will see that is not just a reflection of the people involved but the circumstances we’ve been dealt,” added Postecoglou.

Amorim has won just four of 14 Premier League games since taking charge in November.

Not for the first time, he was let down by his side’s finishing, as Alejandro Garnacho and Joshua Zirkzee wasted glorious chances to equalise after Maddison’s 13th-minute winner.

United’s return of 28 goals in 25 games is the fifth worst in the Premier League.

“In the end, they score, we didn’t. That was the big difference in the game. We had a lot of chances but in the end they scored one and we didn’t,” said Amorim.

United defender Matthijs de Ligt said they have to have “more hunger” to score, but thinks confidence is also an issue.

“I think the urgency, the hunger to score, that is something that may be lacking,” said the Dutch international.

“That’s not only on the attackers, it’s also on the midfield and the defenders. It’s a team thing and we definitely need to improve.

“I think you can say confidence has taken a real hit, especially in the Premier League. If you lose the confidence, you lose the game.”

Amorim, meanwhile, insists there is no running away from the club’s plight after their 12th defeat in 25 Premier League games.

The Portuguese has now lost eight of his 14 league games in charge.

Not since 1973-74 have United lost 12 of their opening 25 games in a top-flight season and, while they look far enough away from the bottom three to avoid relegation, the gloom is deepening at Old Trafford.

“What you see guys and what you discuss every week, I also see,” Amorim told Sky Sports.

“I have a lot of problems, my job is so, so hard here. But I stick with my beliefs.

“You grow and you learn a lot of things. We just need to face it and not run away, that is my feeling. Today will hurt, it is a tough pain to lose so many games, but then you can change things in a week.” AFP, REUTERS