Presser points | Ferencvaros vs Spurs | Ange Postecoglou

Ange Postecoglou addressed the media ahead of our UEFA Europa League league phase Matchday 2 against Hungary champions Ferencvaros in Budapest on Thursday evening (5.45pm UK).

Speaking ahead of a training session at the Groupama Arena, here's what he had to say...

James Maddison

First up, Ange was asked for his thoughts on James Maddison this season... 

Ange: "I think Madders has been outstanding so far this year. His form from the first game has been really strong, physically. I've said a few times that he's back at the levels where he can play in the manner he wants to and do everything he wants to in a game. In the last two or three weeks he's had an effect on goals and assists as well, which always gets highlighted with players in his position, but his general play has been outstanding. I'm sure if he continues in that vein he will be in the conversation for England squads moving forward."

Puskas and Ferencvaros

Ange was coached by all-time great Ferenc Puskas during his playing days at South Melbourne. With us in Puskas' home city, Ange was asked, 'you've got a special connection with Ferenc Puskas, how do you remember those years and what are you expecting from tomorrow?'

Ange: "I do have a special connection, for me anyway, with Mr Puskas. I was blessed to be able to spend three years in the company of one of the greatest footballers of all time but, more importantly for me, an outstanding person. He was one of the greatest people I've ever come across and I feel really fortunate to have had those three years with him, where I was able to sit there and talk to a person who in the football world had done everything but, more importantly, a person who I had so much respect and admiration for. I still think about it and it still feels unreal to me that I got that opportunity being based in Australia. As you get older you keep those experiences even more. I would love for him to still be around today to see where I am because he played a role in me becoming certainly the football manager I am. He played a role in that but also the person I’ve become. I'm looking forward to the game tomorrow. It's going to be a great challenge. Every European game, especially away from home, is going to be difficult. I know in this stadium, the atmosphere is going to be good. They get behind their team, they love European football here and I think it's one that me and the players are looking forward to."

Dominic Solanke

Ange was asked why Dominic Solanke had settld in so well...

Ange: "Obviously, we didn’t sign Dom until late in the window and he was really keen to get his Tottenham career up and running as quickly as possible, and then he had a false start. He got injured really early in the game at Leicester and then proceeded to miss a couple (of matches) so for him it's probably been a little bit frustrating, but I knew what we were bringing to the football club. I was really confident that the way we play and his attributes, that he was going to be a great fit. I could see that from the first day of training, but we had to be patient. He's getting up there now in terms of physical fitness, I think every game he looks like he's getting stronger. It's a demanding role up front for us, it's not just about goals, it’s about his link-up play and pressing. We've put a fair amount of workload on him, even though he's missed a couple of games, I can see he's getting strong. Obviously, the goals help. He's a striker. He wants to score goals and that helps him to feel better about the beginning of his career here. I think he’s in great condition, he's already made a big impact at our football club, but I'm even more excited about what’s ahead, the potential we have as a team and he, as an individual, and that he can make a significant impact."

Travelling party

Ange was asked about the squad that had travelled to Hungary, anyone he'd left behind and why Sergio Reguilon had flown out as he's ineligible for the game...

Ange: "He's a Spurs player, mate. I mean, we've got a training session so it's a balance that we need 20 players for training, that's what we do for matchday minus one. It didn't make sense to bring someone like Radu or a couple of guys who have got injuries, because we won't get back until late on Thursday. We've brought a couple of young guys in. The academy played last night and we didn't want to disrupt that, but we brought a couple of young guys and Reguilon to make sure our training is really good today. Squad-wise, from the weekend, Destiny hasn't travelled. It's nothing significant, his injury, but again it didn't make sense to bring him over if he wasn't going to play. Radu is suspended and Sonny is back in London doing rehab, but the rest of the squad, plus the young players, have travelled.

Archie's role

Ange was asked, 'with no Destiny Udogie, presumably Ben Davies plays at left-back, and with no Radu here, is Archie Gray capable of playing in Europe at a centre-back or was that just a pre-season thing to get him minutes?'

Ange: "No, I think Archie can play centre-back. He's obviously played full-back, played midfield, played probably left-back. He's a pretty versatile player and that's one of the reasons we were really excited to bring him to the club. He takes in information well and with Radu being suspended and Destiny out, we'll definitely need him at the back. We've got a couple of different options about where we use him, but I'd be comfortable using him in any of those areas."

Pascal Jansen

Ange faced Ferencvaros manager Pascal Jansen during his time at Celtic, when Jansen was at AZ Alkmaar, and Ange was asked for his memories of that European tie...

Ange: "I remember the game well. It was one of my early games at Celtic and it was a very, very good AZ Alkmaar team that Pascal had. It was two tough games but important games for me because European football that year was the beginnings and I knew it would be important for Celtic's season. Yeah, real challenging games both of them. They had a very good team, he had them set up well and really intense games, high-tempo games. It's great to see he is continuing on with his managerial career and looking forward to seeing him again tomorrow night, but I expect an equally challenging encounter as we did when we played them."