Presser points | Spurs 1-0 Man United | Ange Postecoglou

Ange Postecoglou spoke to the media at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after our 1-0 win against Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday.

Here's what he had to say...

Ange on the performance...

"I think the important thing is that we did win today. It was an important game for us and an important week. We needed to put in a performance today to get us the result and I think we did that. That coupled with the fact that we've got some significant players back and they got through the game. They got through unscathed and really contributed, it was important for us. It signals a little bit of an opportunity for us to push on from here."

On being able to bring senior players off the bench...

"Yeah, it does make a massive difference. Getting guys like Vic and Madders contributing straight away, you can see the quality they have and the presence they have. As you said I can put guys on and for guys like Brennan and Wilson, Vic, Madders to a certain extent, it might take them one or two games to get up to speed, but the fact we have them available, yeah, it's an enormous boost for us."

On James Maddison's display (and goal celebration)...

"Everybody has mentioned his celebration but I didn’t see it so I can’t comment on it but it doesn’t surprise me that Madders didn’t accept what was being said about him and threw a shot back over the bow. It’s just great to have him back. He is a quality player. If you just look at his goals return from midfield this year it’s still right up there. He got frustrated when he got injured and to be honest we didn’t think he would be back for a couple of weeks but he has worked awfully hard in training and done everything right to make sure he was available. I think that is the key thing for us and we have seen it with all our players, particularly in recent times. The injured lads are all desperate to contribute. They have seen what the other guys have gone through and are just pushing hard. Even Brennan, Wilson, Destiny, they were really keen to be involved today. There was no me holding them back. They wanted to be a part of it. Yeah pleased. I thought Madders took his goal well and contributed to us getting a victory."

On Kevin Danso...

"He got a knock on his knee. Him, Sonny and Rodri all got sort of knocks. I don't think it is anything significant. But the beauty of it now is we can actually get them to recover instead of trying to patch them up and throw them out (onto the pitch) again midweek. I think from what I’ve heard, knocks all three of them but they should be fine."

On a return of confidence...

"I don’t know if confidence is the right word but you are right about lifting the mood and I sensed it in training. Not just with the players but even the coaches. We have hardly trained the last two months. We have just gone out there and tried to work on things without putting a physical toll on the players because of the game schedule. We have had to do it with U21 and U18 players. This week all of a sudden we have had 20 senior fit players which gives everyone a boost. Training is more energetic and up tempo. The players and the coaches all respond to that and feeds in. That’s why I thought it was important today that we got a win. We can do that again this week and build into a big week. There’s no doubt. The players understand when they say the likes of Vicario, Maddison, Johnson, all training again they feel good as well. As much as all players want to play, they also knew they needed help and they got it this week."

On what this win can do for the team...

"I certainly believe there is still a hell of a lot on offer for us, this back-half of the year. Europe is the obvious one, but even in the league I think we could make inroads there. We’re not happy with where we are. It’s unacceptable that we’re in the position we are. But the circumstances have dictated that to a great extent. The circumstances will change. The guys who came back in today will improve and make us stronger. There’s still two or three more on the horizon who will also come back. I think that gives us an opportunity before long. It’s only one game, but I thought today was an important game if we were going to start that progress. Getting three points makes us think, OK, it’s starting to make an impact."

On targeting European places in the league...

"Considering you guys were asking me about relegation around 10 days ago, I don’t think either is where we’re looking at. I do think the league is tight. What’s happened to us is going to happen to other clubs. It’s coming. People think I’ve been making excuses all along, and when I look at what we’re doing as just a course of that. But trust me, other clubs will feel that as well. It’s only mid-Feb. There’s a fair way to go. European football for us this year is important this year. We’re in the Europa League this year and we’ve got an opportunity there to make an impact. But I thought we could make an impact in the league. Today was a step towards that. We can play better, for sure. We will play better. We’ve got an opportunity to address the situation we’re in."

On having sympathy for United's injury problems...

"If I check my office, I don’t have any sympathy cards from other managers, so that hasn’t happened. There’s definitely a few. I could see Ruben there, players out of position, kids on the bench. Well, welcome to my world. But that's for one game. Now do that for two months. Do that for two months. Any club. Do that for two months. I thought Man United were good today, considering all that, and we had our days when we were good, we beat Liverpool in this spell."