Presser points | Hoffenheim 2-3 Spurs | Ange Postecoglou

Ange Postecoglou spoke to the media at the PreZero Arena after our 3-2 win against Hoffenheim in MD7 of the league phase of the UEFA Europa League.

Here's what he had to say...

Ange on the performance and ending the game with five teenagers on the pitch...

"Just outstanding by the players, full credit to them. Winning away in Europe is always difficult irrespective of the situation you're in, but with the situation we’re in, just a really unbelievable effort. Great leadership by the experienced players. We really needed them to stand up today. I thought Madders, Sonny, Rodrigo and Benny were outstanding. In the first half I thought we played really well. We created some really good opportunities for ourselves and maybe could’ve had one or two more. Second half we looked little bit fatigued and had to hold on a little bit and defend a lot more, which we did okay on the most part. When they scored the game tightens up but it was a great finish by Sonny to give us that extra buffer. We finished with five teenagers, Brandon’s first game in Europe and second game overall. I think you take European victories for granted, but it was a really unbelievable effort and a really strong-willed group of players today and credit to them."

On getting through tough spells...

"I've been doing this for a long time now and what’s important is that you have a really strong belief in what you’re doing and not get influenced by noise and not get influenced by what the current mood is in terms of people's assessment of where you’re at. For me that’s always been the most important thing. I firmly believe in what we’re doing, I firmly believe that we're on the right road - whether others agree with that is irrelevant to me. It doesn't make any decision. It doesn't affect my decision-making or my interaction with the people at the club and particularly the players and staff. They're my focus and they're who I need to make sure that they have the belief. If they still have the belief then I know we can achieve success. So, it's not easy to be fair because there’s a lot of noise. In the Premier League there’s the most noise, so you have to deal with that, but in the end it's just noise."

On playing Brandon Austin in goal...

"Obviously, even when we signed Toni, in terms of European football, we knew we still need Fraser Forster and Brandon. Brandon did really well in the game he played (against Newcastle) and he's trained really strongly since. We knew this game would be a bit of a target for him and Fraser had an illness that knocked him back a bit, but I just felt on the back of his performance in the league game that Brandon deserved a crack at it and I thought he did well tonight. You can’t underestimate European football away from home, especially the first game, with a pretty relatively inexperienced team in front of him and I thought he handled it really well and we’ll need him again next week."

On the latest on Dominic Solanke's injury...

"With Dom, the information now is that we are looking at around the six-week mark. No surgery. Maybe we can get him back a little bit earlier, just see how he progresses. But, at this stage, it’s saying around six weeks."

On Heung-Min Son's display...

"I thought he really stood up today. We needed him to. Him, Madders, Rodri, Benny, a lot of our other players, it’s not just Lucas, Archie, Radu and our young players. We also have to factor into it that Richy is just coming back from injury. There is a whole range of things we are dealing with out there. It can be easy, particularly away in Europe, to get swept away. I thought Sonny led from the front tonight with his football, but also with his general actions and most importantly the goals. Look, we are all copping stick at the moment. That is the nature of the beast. What we do, as footballers and managers, we are all in the firing line at the moment. Whether it is warranted or not, you have to stand up and reply to it in the proper way. I thought he did that tonight."

On James Maddison's display...

"Yeah, you need to respond in the right manner and I thought Madders was outstanding tonight. These players are exhausted. They are professional footballers who are just 24/7 trying to recover right now. All of them. They are giving everything. I know somebody said yesterday to me, that I could not believe, that maybe they are prioritising one game over another. These guys are giving everything they can. It should not be dismissed that I had five teenagers out there. We are a Premier League outfit playing in an away game in Europe and we had five teenagers out there. It is pretty much unheard of in an important game, not a dead rubber, and that goes to show the load these guys are willing to take on themselves, without making excuses. I could not speak highly enough of the players carrying us through. They will get some help hopefully soon with some players coming back. We are in a real good position in Europe -  get to the knockout rounds home and away, get our players back and we will back ourselves against anyone. The fact that these guys have got us to this position, Madders and all the players that have carried us through, credit to them."