Presser points | Spurs 2-2 Bournemouth | Ange Postecoglou

Ange Postecoglou spoke to the media at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after our 2-2 draw against Bournemouth in the Premier League on Sunday.

Here's what he had to say...

Ange on a 'chaotic' game and our spirit to come back from 2-0 down...

"Yes, a chaotic game for sure. We added to the chaos and it was a little bit self-inflicted, especially in the first half, we were really careless with our passing and that allowed the game to played on the terms Bournemouth would like with their transition football. At 2-0 down it would have been very easy, particularly with the atmosphere as it was, for the boys to just let the game get away from us, but credit to them, they found a way to get back into the game and we got something out of it."

Ange on Solanke, Romero and van de Ven's returns...

"That's the key thing, they got minutes. Romero, just great to get him back out there. He's such an important player for us, but you could see he hasn't played for a while. I thought he grew into the game and got a lot better as it went on. Great for Dom to get 90 minutes today, he's such a workhorse for us and I'm sure he'll feel better for that. Brilliant to get Micky out there as well. I think before Thursday night (second leg against AZ Alkmaar) that was key for us to get some minutes into these guys and, thankfully, they got through it unscathed."

Ange on Lucas Bergvall's impact off the bench in the second half...

"Lucas was great. He has been great but he has played a lot and we've just got to be mindful of that. He's becoming an important part of our team. I thought he made a big impact when he came on. Like I said, we were sloppy when we were on the ball in the first half and he’s one who takes a bit more care with it. He's a technician and he carries the ball really well. I thought he and Sonny made a really good impact when they came on."

Ange on Romero's display and the defender 'looking rusty' at the start...

"He's hardly played this year, to be fair. Cuti will be disappointed with that himself but at the same time what was much more important for me was how grew into his game, his defensive work, his aerial ability. He was on the end of almost every cross they put into the box from corners and I think he will feel a lot better just having played. The idea was only to play 45 today, but he was keen to stay on for a bit longer and you could see he grew into the game and was really important for us."

Ange on the importance of showing that spirit from 2-0 down ahead of the second leg against AZ...

"Yes, it was, you can imagine the noise around if the players didn’t respond. Thursday is obviously a massive game for us and at least from that perspective, and even for the players themselves, we've obviously got a challenge on Thursday night but they overcame a fairly big challenge today and hopefully we show the same kind of mindset."

Ange on a feeling of anxiety in the crowd and importance of that not being the case against AZ...

"I said before, I can't dictate to people how they interact, but AZ’s crowd certainly helped them on Thursday night and we need our crowd to get behind the boys on Thursday to make it an atmosphere where maybe we lose some of that nervousness and anxiety within our game. The reality is, we as a team have to respond irrespective of the atmosphere - and one may follow the other. If we start the game strong, it’ll get the place nice and loud, which will help us."

Ange on the importance of bringing experience off the bench...

"It certainly helps. It is something we haven’t had for quite a while and they all made an impact, particularly Lucas and Sonny when they came on. It was a big moment for Sonny obviously taking the penalty and he showed for those big moments, he is there. It was an important goal for the team and he took that responsibility."

Ange on the performance...

"As I said, it was a chaotic game, not a lot of control from our perspective, which is not ideal for the way we want to play. We looked nervous, we looked anxious, especially in the first half, but within that context, to come back from 2-0 down, I think the positives of that is the lads showed a really strong mindset to to get something out of the game, which to be fair, that's probably what's been missing this year. I think there's a lot of games we've lost where games have just petered out and if we had turned more of those single-goal defeats into draws like we did today, we’d be in a better position in the league."

Ange on controlling the game...

"I just never felt like we had the control or the momentum or fluency in the game to to be able to still make it as high tempo as possible, but without it having the chaos of what it did today, because it ended up becoming a basketball game and that really suits them. That’s kind of their template and you need to control the game more, which we want to do anyway if you want to turn it into a game where it is high tempo but less chaotic as it was today."

Ange on the team's perseverance...

"I think there was a perseverance there and probably to the angst of our supporters, they kept trying to play and that’s important. I think that’s the best way to work your way through the struggle we had out there and even when Micky came on, you saw the drive he has and having a left-footed centre-back, it changes the dimension of how we play. There are little things there that certainly from today we can take into Thursday and the rest of the season."