- Tottenham have lost four of the last five in the Premier League and are in 12th place
- Ben Davies suffers setback as Radu Dragusin battles for fitness
- LISTEN NOW: It’s all starting! New line-up, some new faces, but optimism has faded at Old Trafford
Ange Postecoglou has vowed to keep his nerve during Tottenham’s latest sequence of misfortunes and lapses in form.
He dismissed the idea that pressure must be building and anxiety seeping in, insisting instead that his players have his back, fully agree with his adventurous style of play and that the club’s recruitment department is trying to alleviate what he considers the worst injury crisis of his coaching career. .
“I get to where people see my situation and think, ‘God, he needs to do something or he’s going to be in trouble,’ but I don’t think that way,” Postecoglou said. ‘That’s not how I’m wired.
‘My motivation is to try to create teams that win things and are successful. That doesn’t really change. I will continue doing what I am doing. It doesn’t add any pressure nor do I feel any extra anxiety about anything. “I firmly believe that we will come out of this and come out stronger and create the team we want to be.”
Spurs have lost four of their last five in the Premier League and suffered another untimely blow yesterday (Friday) with Ben Davies ruled out for at least two more weeks after suffering a setback on his return to training after three weeks out due to a hamstring problem.
Djed Spence will miss Sunday’s game against Wolves, suspended after a red card in the Boxing Day defeat at Nottingham Forest. Radu Dragusin is struggling for fitness due to an ankle injury from the same match.
Ange Postecoglou has promised to keep his nerve despite Tottenham’s current bad moment
Tottenham have lost four of their last five in the Premier League and are 12th in the table
With Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven still out, Postecoglou is desperately short in central defence. Yves Bissouma and Alfie Dorrington will lead the contenders to partner Archie Gray if Dragusin is out.
Still, Postecoglou tried to maintain a positive attitude. “We’re not that far away,” he said. ‘A week ago, I was sitting here after winning the Carabao Cup quarter-final and beating Southampton 5-0. And we’re in the semi-final of the Carabao Cup and we’re still in a great position in Europe and there’s the FA Cup.
‘Our position in the league is not very good, but it is very tight. If you look at some of the teams that are four or five points ahead of us, I don’t think that’s going to extend much over the next period because every team you see is suffering at some point. Ours is probably a little more extreme than others, but I’m sure we’ll get through it.
“We still have everything to play for this year to make it a season where we can be successful.”
However, reinforcements would certainly help. “The players need some help, more importantly, and the club is working very hard to try to make that happen,” Postecoglou said, but the January transfer window could be difficult and Tottenham intend to keep their discipline in line. with the latest windows.
Richarlison and Mikey Moore are expected to return to training next week, ahead of the Premier League game against Newcastle, and Yang Min-Hyeok, an 18-year-old South Korean winger, may sign up in the New Year.
Yang signed from Gangwon in July, but completed the K-League season before moving to London.
Postecoglou insisted the players still strongly supported his methods. “They’re still trying very hard,” Postecoglou said. “That’s the first thing you look at as a coach: are the players still responding or are they looking for an alternative?
Radu Dragusin (left) battles to be fit for the clash against Wolves while Djed Spence (right) is suspended
Yves Bissouma and Alfie Dorrington (left) will lead the contenders to partner Archie Gray if Dragusin is ruled out.
‘It’s human nature to think we need to do something different or we obviously don’t have enough staff, let’s change something. I haven’t felt it. The players still want to deal with this like we are doing. It’s a credit to them.
‘But it’s up to me to guide them through it and show them that all these things are temporary and that you will get through it. If we overcome them in a positive way, the advantage and benefit is that it makes you stronger.
“There are always people in life who people look at with a little curiosity because they do things a little differently and are a little bit of a joke until they get it right and suddenly they’re a genius.” That’s probably relevant to us right now.”