Ange on Cuti Romero’s influence and an outstanding defensive display at Luton

Ange Postecoglou spoke about the influence of Cuti Romero on the defence and the rest of the team after another outstanding performance in the 1-0 win at Luton Town on Saturday.

Pitch perfect alongside Micky van de Ven in central defence at Kenilworth Road, Cuti and Micky were often the starting point for our attacks in the first half, before strapping themselves in for heavy defensive duty with us down to 10 men in the second half.

Collectively, we dealt with everything Luton threw at us, with limited chances coming from the impressive service line of Chiedozie Ogbene and Alfie Doughty. Indeed, Guglielmo Vicario was only forced into one real save of note from Carlton Morris.

Micky also contributed in the best possible way at the other end - up a for a corner, he showed great technique to adjust his body to finish from James Maddison’s cut back for the winner in the 52nd minute - stretching our unbeaten start to six wins and two draws from eight games, our best after eight games in the Premier League era.

“Cuti was outstanding and has been all year,” reflected Ange, talking to us on The Review Show. “Part of the reason the rest of the back four and Vic have felt so comfortable... it’s Destiny’s first year in the Premier League, Micky’s first year, Vic’s first year, Pedro’s also just beginning his career and having a World Cup winner beside them, I just think it lets them feel that but stronger themselves.

“He’s been brilliant. All of them... Emerson Royal, Ben when he came on, all these guys have done a lot of work with Matty Wells (coach) and you can see it coming to fruition because they love defending and we had to defend today. We need contributions from everyone and everyone who came on made an impact on the game.”

Asked about Cuti and Micky in his post-match press conference, Ange said: “They've been great all year, both of them, the whole back four and Vic. I think a big part of that is Romero because when you look at it, it's Destiny's first year in the Premier League, Micky's first year in the Premier League, Vic's first year and Porro just beginning his Premier League career, but they've got a World Cup winner beside them, and I think he makes them feel like they belong. They feel really comfortable having him beside them and you can see them flourish.

“Micky was outstanding today with the way he dealt with it. We knew when playing here against Luton we would have to deal with a lot of long balls and physicality, but you know Micky has outstanding physical qualities but he's also maturing and learning as a player as well.

“Emerson and Benny when they came on, I thought the guys who came on today and needed to defend did really well. Again credit to Matty Wells as well who works hard with them every day.”

Asked more specifically about Cuti, Ange said: “Working with him, he's just an outstanding defender. He is someone you definitely want in your team. Yes, he does have that physicality about him, he's a good player as well, his passing range, his ability to really position himself well, to stay calm and then just ridiculous bravery to always put his body in there. He's just an outstanding defender.”