Presser points | Southampton vs Spurs | Ange Postecoglou

Ange Postecoglou spoke to the media at Hotspur Way on Friday, ahead of our Premier League against Southampton at St Mary's on Sunday (7pm UK).

Here's what he had to say...

Timo Werner

First up, Ange was asked, 'you gave a very honest assessment of how you felt Timo Werner played last night, any regrets waking up this morning about the public nature of the criticism?'

Ange: "No, it wasn’t criticism. It was assessment. If we played poorly, we played poorly. With Timo it wasn’t about whether he played well or not. It was a difficult game last night. I’m asking 18-year-olds to do some massive jobs and you want senior players, and he’s a senior player, he's an international and he's won the Champions League, there’s a level of application and performance you need to rise to, to help the team. He didn’t reach that. I think me taking him off at half-time was statement enough. The same way I won't be hiding behind poor team performances, the same with and no different for the players or anyone else. It wasn't criticism, it was just an assessment of his performance and on a really challenging night for us, which we knew going into it, it needs to be better."

How has he responded to it?

Ange: "I've got no time for that sort of stuff anymore. 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. This football club we want to achieve things and be successful. We’re down to the bare bones in players. If there’s somebody in the dressing room who’s fit, able to contribute but who feels he needs something extra in this moment, he’s probably not the right type. I need guys who, and we had some last night, understand the situation we're in. We've 15 fit players and in some positions we've only got two players. I’m not going to go around trying to get extra out of people. If they’re not able to give extra now, it kind of gives me an indication of where they're at."

Southampton

Ange was asked what he expected from Southampton on Sunday...

Ange: "A good challenge. They've played some pretty exciting and effective football against very good teams. I think Russell will probably just be frustrated not to sustain it or get rewards for it. In football the good stuff you do gets diminished because people invariably look at the outcome which is the result, which is fair enough. I think some of the football they have played has been as good as anyone this year, home and away. Their ability to play out from the back, their ability to play through pressure, they've made some mistakes in trying to do that and endeavouring to do that, but for the amount of times they've done that really well they probably haven't got the rewards that good play deserves. It kind of skews people's outlooks. It's going to be a good challenge for us. Like I say, they're a good footballing side. There's some opportunity for us there because we're a good pressing team, so it's going to be a good game."

Archie and Lucas

Ange was asked, 'is the playing time for Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall in this injury crisis valuable for their development?'

Ange: "You don't want to by design, but it will bear fruit for us, for sure. If we had a smoother season they probably wouldn't have played as much, fair to say. The fact they are playing, and I really like the way they're going about it for us in a difficult period. Like I say, Archie has been asked to do things as an 18-year-old in unfamiliar positions away in Europe and in the Premier League and the way he's handled it is outstanding. You think to yourself if he can get through this period and keep growing then what's he going to be like in three or four years' time. The next manager will love him! Lucas, likewise, is really growing into it. We can see he's starting to really feel comfortable at this level. He's showing a real maturity for an 18-year-old and I think that's hugely positive for us. By design, you don't want to throw young players into it, but I think we'll get enormous benefit from it for sure."

Doing the basics

Ange was asked, 'what things in this crisis do the players on the pitch need to be doing more?'

Ange: "It's a combination of things. Like I say, we can't dismiss the situation we're in at the moment. We're very limited at the moment what we can do from a team perspective, there's a lot of players playing a lot of games and they're giving their all, but they're going to lack a little bit of sharpness as we cannot give them a rest. Within that context, it's about making sure that there's some basics in our game that we push through. Like I say, you look at the Chelsea game and elements of that were brilliant for us in the way we played our football. The ability to play at that level is still there. It's just last night, and we've got to keep it in context, it's a difficult venue, it's always difficult for any team going there in Europe historically to get a result and you need to fight, I just felt there were times we weren't as committed to winning seconds balls and doing a lot of things you need to do when you go to Ibrox. We lost those battles which allowed them to sort of get into the game. The flip side of that is when you're 1-0 down there it's awfully hard to turn around because the volume of the stadium goes up by 100 decibels and it's hard to claw back. I thought we showed real character. Dom, Deki, Lucas and Pape all helped when they came on in helping us achieve that. As I said after the game, in the context of Europe, it's a really good point for us. It sets us up really well for the last two games, the next games are not for a while so with a bit of luck we'll be in a much better position squad-wise to tackle them. We know if we win those games we'll finish in the top eight and probably look back on that point last night as valuable to that."

Centre-back situation

It was put to Ange, 'could you have signed more centre-back cover at the start of the season and does it need addressing?'

Ange: "Look, I could have had six centre-backs but name me one club that has six centre-backs and has enough depth. It is impossible. I know people say you should have signed one, but how many centre-backs can I have? The reality of it is if all of them are fit, three aren’t going to play and you just have them on your roster. Every club goes into a season with three or maybe four centre-backs, which we did this year and unfortunately for us, three of those four are injured. I’ve seen clubs lose one centre-back and people call it an injury crisis and it is, because your centre-back pairing is crucial. In the top teams, your pairing is a constant and teams that don’t have those constants you really struggle even when you miss one. We are missing three. Of course, it is going to affect us and our ability to play the way we want to. You can’t have six centre-backs in a Premier League squad of 25."

'We're in a fight here, in a battle'

Ange was asked, 'you said you're not interested in bruised egos but players like to be told what they're good at, do you find in your dressing room that they're going to respond to the latter?'

Ange: "It's not about response. Like I said, I'm not interested. We're in a fight here, in a battle. When people are in a fight and a battle, do you think they go around asking, 'how are you feeling today? Are you feeling up for this?' You've got no choice, mate. You've got to be up for it. Like I said, I get that everything is about Timo but Timo is not where our season is at. It's not about Timo. It's about who we are in the situation we're in right now. If it's not Timo it could be someone else on Sunday. If somebody else doesn't perform to the levels for the current situation we're in then we're going to suffer for it because we've only got a certain amount of players. It's not about bringing somebody down and blaming someone. This is not about one person, it's what we're in and the situation we're in right now. We've got a limited amount of players, we're really stretched but we've got big games that can set up our season. It's a great challenge. I want people who are up for that challenge and when they go out there, irrespective if things go well or not, I want them relishing the opportunity to be out there. This is not a time for us to be kind or worried about people's mindset. If you don't understand or feel what we're in at the moment, I'm not sure what it's going to take."

Ready for St Mary's?

Ange was asked if he was confident we could turn things around against Southampton...

Ange: "That's the reality of it. You're right, there's no alternative path here and no solution other than to go out there and perform at a level we know we can, which we have in recent times even when results haven't been great we've still have reached levels of performances we know if we can get to we're difficult to stop. That's what is before us."

Team news

Ange was asked for any latest information on Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven...

Ange: "No, mate. Obviously guys get injured and without getting too technical, you need to let the injury settle down before you get a real prognosis so it will probably be next week some time with Micky and Cristian. Everyone got through last night, so they are all good to go. Biss is suspended this weekend, so he’ll miss out."

Ben Davies

Ange was also asked for an update on Ben Davies, who picked up a hamstring issue at Bournemouth last week...

Ange: "Ben, that was a week ago and it’s not as bad as we thought. There is a chance he’ll be back, hopefully, before the new year. So, that was positive. Again, initially, we were a bit worried, but you need to give it a week to settle down. The latest information I got this morning is that it’s nowhere near as bad as we thought it was and hopefully a quicker turnaround."

Style and values

Ange was asked, 'there has been a lot of talk about your style of play, you spoke at the fans forum about Tottenham playing a style true to the club’s values - why is it so important to stay true to values of the club?'

Ange: "I just feel that is the clearest path to success because what you endeavour to do is link it to what fits with what the club see itself from an identity point of view. Every club wants to be successful, that’s a given. There isn’t a club that their motto is, ‘we don’t care if we win’ in latin, it doesn’t exist, but it’s how you get to that point. For some clubs, it is not important. For other clubs, it is and I think this is one of those clubs. They have certainly tried the alternative path and come away feeling it wasn’t fit for purpose and that’s why I think it is important. It is easier path to traverse because in difficult moments you still realise this is the way we want to go. So, there is a clear alignment when bumps in the road happen and that’s why it is important. For some clubs, other things are more important than style of play or the way you play your football. There are other anchors they hold onto. Some believe in developing young players, others believe in just the experience at their home ground. There are always things you can say are constants and that’s why I think it is important."

The attacking style of play this club is known more historically, is it more difficult to implement away from home, hence only four away league wins in 2024?

Ange: "No, not necessarily, and again I get people think attacking football means you never defend or don’t care about defending, but it is more about your intent when you go into every game. Our intent is to go and try win every game, not to treat games in a different manner. Now what is the opposite? The opposite is you go into every game trying not to lose? Well, that is not guarantee success either. The only guarantee of success is when you get it all right and that’s the difficult thing. That’s the reason only one team wins the competition and sometimes it is fine margins between who wins it and finishes second, third or fourth. As I keep saying, you play attacking football and people say you have to concentrate more on defence. You play defensive football and they say you need to concentrate more on attack. Really? I know that. Every manager knows that, and it’s about what do you want to base that on? Your underlying principles and getting to that space. We want to be an attacking side, we want to be an aggressive side but it doesn’t mean we ignore the defensive side of the game because that kind of mentality doesn’t exist in anybody, because ultimately we all want to win."