Presser points | Spurs vs Leicester City | Ange Postecoglou

Ange Postecoglou spoke to the media at Hotspur Way on Friday, ahead of our Premier League clash against Leicester City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday (2pm UK).

Here's what he had to say...

Ange on the performance and win at Hoffenheim in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday night...

"Very proud, like I said last night. Outstanding effort by the players, a really important game for us in terms of the European context because you saw how the results went last night. A kind of positive result really help us with our target. I thought the lads gave everything on the night. Senior players outstanding, young players as always giving us everything they've got. Really pleased with the outcome."

On player availability for Leicester on Sunday...

"Djed is still sore from the weekend and is a doubt for this weekend as he got a knock. Pape is still a doubt and Reggy should be okay."

On the players 'giving everything' at the moment...

"It's about the players. It is getting increasingly difficult for them to maintain performance for sure as they're giving everything and it's a small group. We should have some light at the end of the tunnel the next couple of weeks. It's not as dire as... but at the same time there's always the possibility that before those guys come back, the load we're putting on these guys we might lose a couple of these. That's always the challenging bit and that's what we're going through. It has been two months of hard grind for the players and, as I keep saying, just trying to support them as much as we can and help them through it. We're working awfully hard on, not just on game time, but in between games to recover and give us the best chance of putting in the performances that are needed at this level. Obviously. our schedule is not going to ease up at all and we've got a massive game this week and a massive week coming in a couple of weeks' time, but at the same time the resilience and determination of players to get out there and perform is a fantastic thing for me to witness and I couldn't be prouder of them."

On our teenagers in the squad, and having five of them on the pitch at the end of the game at Hoffenheim...

"I've said before, I think irrespective of the difficultly we've had in the last couple of months, we'll definitely benefit in the growth we've had from our younger players. But again we've just got to be careful with them, particularly Archie and Lucas and Mikey coming back. We can’t keep asking 18-year-olds to keep dipping in. The thing about the youth is they will keep going. They don’t know how to stop. When you are young you always want to give your best and those guys are giving their best. And to be fair to them the quality of their performances. I thought Archie again, out of position, was brilliant last night. Lucas worked his socks off for the team. Mikey gets an assist when he comes on. There is no doubt we will get enormous benefit for many years to come hopefully from those players. They have had a tough a start to a career as I can remember in terms of their age and what they are being asked to do. Whether that is Archie playing in multiple positions or Lucas coming in to make a real impact in that midfield area or Mikey at 16/17. From that perspective I think it is hugely positive."

On what he's expecting from Leicester...

"It will be a tough game. As you said, Leicester are in a fight to stay in the Premier League and you know in those games they will definitely come and try to make it as difficult as possible for us. But we are in our own tough moment in the league. Being at home will help us. The crowd they can definitely give some energy to the players and hopefully, with a really good atmosphere, we can overcome the challenge."

On Heung-Min Son...

"I have spoken about Sonny many times. He is an outstanding player and person. He has, like the team, had to grind his way through the last couple of months. Again, we are asking him to play a hell of a lot. As attacking players, it’s always more difficult as you need that extra sharpness but he has never shirked the challenge. Last night we really needed some strong leadership and I thought, particularly earlier on, him Madders, Rodri, Ben and Deki. They are the five men we have got in the team, the rest of them are still very young and Richy is only just coming back from injury. It was important they stood up last night and I thought they did that really well."

On Richarlison's fitness...

"As fit as he could possibly be. We are obviously managing his minutes at the moment. He got through it last night. He hasn’t played for a long time so he is not going to be his sharpest. We have still got to manage that. The reality is, unless something changes, he has to play."

On Richarlison having the chance to impress with Dominic Solanke injured...

"I don’t think Richy cares about Dom Solanke or anybody else. When Richy is playing he is Brazil’s No 9. When he played for us last year he was scoring goals. I don’t think Richy was ever worried. I think he will welcome Dom coming back. Both of them playing together could be a force for us. I don’t think that factors into it. Richy is just happy he is physically in good shape and able to start contributing and a lot of the injured guys their biggest probably frustration is that they can’t help the team. I know that is his main driver right now."

On if the the squad has been big enough with 34 games played already this season...

"That question has been asked. You can have 50 players but at the end of the day we have had a really bad set of circumstances with injuries. They have cascaded on us in terms of key areas of the park. Irrespective of the size of the squad or whatever the squad should be, any team would get affected by that. I get that people want to delve deeper into that but ultimately that’s the situation we are in. I don’t think anything could have changed any differently. Any team that loses the amount of players we have, irrespective of your squad, and to key players. We haven’t lost the 18-year-old’s in our team we have lost our starting goalkeeper, centre-backs, left-back, strikers, you name it we have lost it for all different circumstances. From that perspective it is not about the size of the squad I think it is about the cards we have been dealt with."

On what the players and club have learned...

"I don’t think the players need to learn anything. I think the players have done their utmost to carry us through this. You can talk about the level of performance and all that, when people are giving maximum, at Everton we weren’t great but at half-time they decided to dig into every bit of energy they had to get us back into the game and at 3-2 we had a chance to get something out of the game. These players don’t need to learn anything, what they’ve shown is that they are fighting for the club, themselves and the people around them and that’s positive. As a club, there are learnings about the way we get through this period but we are not out of it yet. I have always felt getting through difficult periods, should you stay calm and maintain the course, gets you a positive outcome."

On the motivation of cup competitions...

"I don’t think it has made them more motivated, but that’s also the reality. I get that all the focus is on our league form and we have to still turn it around. We are still in competitions, very deep in one and in the knockout stages in Europe and a step further forward in the FA Cup. There’s no extra motivation needed and plenty of opportunity and things look forward to in the next two, three months to make sure we finish the season strong."

On why it's been so difficult...

"It’s just injuries. I mean, you can walk outside and say, jeez it is really bright, and say to yourself maybe it is not the sun, but it is the sun. We’ve just got injuries, and you can do a million investigations and talk to anonymous sources. You don’t need to talk to anonymous sources, you can talk to me, every decision that is made is from me. I am responsible for this, if you want a head on a stick, take mine, but I am absolutely 100 per cent confident that we are in a better place as a football club today than when I started."

On Cristian Romero's fitness...

"No. Like I said, we got him back training. Him and Micky are the next cabs off the rank in terms of the long-term ones. They've still got a bit to do in terms of getting some training into them with the team. Obviously we haven't been training a lot and because the other day was sort of low tempo session, it was just good to get him involved, not just for him but the players involved because they need a bit of help and encouragement and Cuti training with them gives them a big lift. Micky's not too far away. These players will come back, knock on wood they're not deceased, they're just injured, so they will be all back so it's not all doom and gloom. It's good to see for the players as he's joined in training the last couple of days but he's still got a bit of work to do."

On Archie's fitness...

"He got a knock towards the end of the game on his knee. He's just exhausted, mate. I'm sure he'll be back in this morning doing everything right like he does. As I said, the players are trying to work as hard as they can between games to recover and make sure they're ready to go. Nothing significant came from last night apart from fatigue, nothing else."

On Will Lankshear potentially going on loan...

"We’ll assess it. Where we sit right now with Dom still being out, we’ve got to be mindful of leaving us with a further player short."

On Callum Olusesi's debut against Hoffenheim and how he's trained with the squad...

"We’ve had quite a few young boys training with the group and obviously with the situation we’re in, it’s allowed them to understand what it takes to even train at this level and Callum’s been great. He’s obviously a very talented young player and he’s one of the ones we’ve got high hopes for. Obviously, he got a taste of it last night, which is great for him and for his family. Hopefully, it gives him encouragement, but he’s still got a long way to go in terms of becoming part of the first team. I guess in all these scenarios you hope the experiences they gain fuels it even further although he’s a very motivated young player and we’ve got high hopes for him."

On European football affecting the January transfer window and if there could be a late rush after the final league phase matches next week...

"Potentially. I think that has been a factor because if you look at the way European competitions are stacked up, that would be done and dusted by now and people would know if they are in the Champions League or if they are in the Europa League and adjusted their sights. Maybe after last night and I’ve had a close look at the three-page table, thankfully we’re on the first so I don’t need to go beyond that, but if there is any significant clubs in there and out of the competition, it may make things happen a little bit quicker."

On getting an 'ugly' win at Hoffenheim...

"I know what you are saying about being ugly last night, but the only reason it was ugly was because the players were out on their feet in the second half. I thought our football in the first half was outstanding. We scored two goals but probably had great chances to score two or three more and again we would have blown them away. Yeah, we had to dig deep second half and we kind of knew we would have to because players would feel the fatigue and I couldn’t really make significant substitutions to change that a lot. So, we knew we would have to rely on that starting XI to carry us through the majority of the game, but it was good to throw Mikey on and he can make an impact. Within that context, it was good they fought it out and Sonny’s third goal was also important because you always feel when you play away from home and they have a home crowd the opposition will create chances, but I thought for the most part the lads handled it well. Even for Brandon, that’s his first European game and we can’t overstate that. We’re throwing him in a game of consequence, it’s not like it is a game of no consequence where you see a lot of these decisions made. We backed him in a big game and I thought he delivered."