Tottenham Hotspur must learn from ill-discipline, says Ange Postecoglou
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Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou will be pleased that his side have scored in each of their last 17 Premier League home games.
PHOTO: AFP
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LONDON – Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou wants his players to control themselves better when it comes to discipline on the pitch, as Spurs prepare to host Everton in an English Premier League clash on Dec 23.
Following five winless league games that included four defeats, Tottenham have now won two consecutive matches – an impressive 4-1 victory over Newcastle United and last weekend’s 2-0 triumph over Nottingham Forest.
But the win over Forest saw Yves Bissouma sent off, meaning he is suspended against Everton, while Spurs also saw two red cards against Chelsea (Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie) and one against Luton Town (Bissouma) in the past two months.
“It is something that is not great for us as it is costing us during games, it is costing us post-games,” said Postecoglou.
“Players are well aware of the kind of impact those things have and I’m sure they will learn from those experiences.
“My experience in football is that the best remedy for those kind of things is players missing out. If they feel they are missing out on something, then it brings them into line pretty quickly.
“Hopefully we keep winning and the guys who miss out learn their lesson that way.”
Having ended their five-game winless rut, fifth-placed Tottenham will now aim to break into the top four this week.
Spurs are one point behind fourth-placed Manchester City (34), who are not in league action this week as they are at the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia.
The attack-minded Postecoglou will be pleased that, including the four goals against Newcastle, his side have now scored in each of their last 17 Premier League home games. They have also netted in 29 straight league matches, the longest ongoing run in the English top flight.
The Spurs boss, however, is still dealing with a long injury list with Alfie Whiteman, Rodrigo Bentancur, James Maddison, Ivan Perisic, Manor Solomon, Micky van de Ven and Ryan Sessegnon all sidelined.
Everton, meanwhile, are in good form themselves despite being 16th in the table.
The Toffees have won their last four league games, including against Newcastle and Chelsea, scoring eight goals and conceding none. Sean Dyche’s men have a seven-point buffer over the relegation zone and it could have been more if 10 points were not deducted for breaking the league’s financial rules.
On facing Spurs, Dyche said: “It is not easy, home or away. Spurs are open with fluid movement.
“But our results have improved and we go to win every game.”
Abdoulaye Doucoure is unlikely to be risked, while Ashley Young and Seamus Coleman are doubts but Vitaliy Mykolenko could be available.
