Tottenham Hotspur need committed players to fight for success, says boss Ange Postecoglou
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Manager Ange Postecoglou has several injury concerns ahead of Tottenham Hotspur's English Premier League clash with Southampton on Dec 15.
PHOTO: REUTERS
LONDON – Tottenham Hotspur are struggling in the English Premier League with only one win in their last five games and manager Ange Postecoglou said he is not afraid of slamming his players ahead of the league game at Southampton on Dec 15.
After calling Timo Werner out in Spurs’ Europa League 1-1 draw against Rangers on Dec 12, he said the following day “it wasn’t criticism, but his assessment” that the 28-year-old did not meet the team’s expectations.
Spurs were 11th in the Premier League standings with 20 points from 15 games ahead of the Dec 14 fixtures and, with important matches coming in the next few weeks, the Australian manager urged his players to be ready for tough challenges.
“We’re in a fight here, collectively we’re in a fight. I’m not going to go around worrying about people’s bruised egos. We want to achieve things, we want to be successful,” Postecoglou said.
“We’re down to the bare bones in players. If there’s somebody in that dressing room who’s fit, able to contribute and feels like he needs something extra in this moment, he’s probably not the right type.
“I just need people to have that level of commitment and application, and find their way through. As much as I’m talking about Timo, I’m talking about the whole group... I need players going out there and putting that to one side.”
The north London club have several injury concerns with Wilson Odobert, Micky van de Ven, Richarlison, Guglielmo Vicario and Ben Davies all sidelined.
While there are no new additions to that list, Yves Bissouma, who received his fifth yellow card of the season against Chelsea last weekend, will not feature at St Mary’s Stadium.
“You need to let the injuries settle down before you get a real prognosis, so it’ll probably be next week sometime for Micky and Cristian (Romero),” Postecoglou said.
“Ben is not as bad as we thought. There is a chance he’ll be back before the new year.”
Things are much rosier over at west London, where Chelsea’s recent results have cemented their status as Premier League title contenders, but manager Enzo Maresca said the Blues do not feel involved in the race just yet.
Chelsea were in second place on 31 points from 15 games, four behind leaders Liverpool before this round. However, Maresca, who was hired in June after guiding Leicester City to the Championship title in his first season in charge, has steadfastly refused to accept that his side are contenders.
“You can smell that (a title race), you can feel that. And probably this is the reason why I said we are not ready, because we don’t feel that and we don’t smell that in this moment. Hopefully, soon we can be there,” the Italian told reporters.
“I like to convince myself and the players that the only way to fight for something is just to be focused on the day by day. When you start to think about ‘in two days, three days, one month, two months’, it’s the beginning of the bad times.”
Chelsea host Brentford in the league on Dec 15.
Brentford have been poor on the road, earning just one point from seven away games in the league, but the Bees have become something of a bogey team for Chelsea.
The Blues are winless in their last five league meetings with Brentford and Maresca highlighted their opponents’ versatility as a potential stumbling block, adding: “The good thing about them is that they can play in different styles.
“They don’t have just one way to play. They can play back four, they can play back five. They can play back four, making a back five with one of the wingers. So it’s quite complicated, but we’re going to try to do our best.”
Whatever tactics Thomas Frank may choose to employ, his focus would be on neutralising the threat of attacker Cole Palmer, who is Chelsea’s top scorer with 11 goals in 15 games, while also providing six assists.
“I feel very proud and privileged to work with Cole. Cole is a different one to the rest,” Maresca said.
“Absolutely, he can be world class. But he is only 22 and there are many things he can improve, including that at the moment, everyone is marking him man to man, but there are many things he can still improve.” REUTERS, AFP
