Ange Postecoglou says he no longer has ‘time’ to think too much about players’ feelings as he seeks to win the ‘fight’ to keep his job.
The Australian boss is under heavy pressure with Tottenham on a run of just one win in their last eight across all competitions and supporters making no secret of their displeasure with their team’s form.
Spurs drew 1-1 away at Rangers in the Europa League on Thursday, with Dejan Kulusevski equalising following Hamza Igamane’s opener.
Kulusevski was introduced at half-time in place of Timo Werner, who put in a dreadful first-half display that saw him fail to create a single chance and attempt just one shot. The German also failed to complete any of his three dribbles or two attempted crosses and was unsuccessful with all five of his ground duels.
Postecoglou didn’t mince his words when evaluating Werner’s performance after the match, labelling it as ‘unacceptable’.
Postecoglou was asked about his comments in his pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday’s trip to Premier League bottom side Southampton and if he had any regrets over what he said.
“No, it wasn’t criticism. It was assessment,” Postecoglou responded (via Football.London). “If we played poorly, we played poorly.
“With Timo, it wasn’t about whether he played well or not. It was a difficult game last night. I’m asking 18-year-olds to do some massive jobs and you want senior players, and he’s a senior player, he’s an international and he’s won the Champions League, there’s a level of application and performance you need to rise to, to help the team. He didn’t reach that.
“I think me taking him off at half-time was a statement enough. The same way I won’t be hiding behind poor team performances, the same and no different for the players or anyone else. It wasn’t criticism, it was just an assessment of his performance and on a really challenging night for us, which we knew going into it, it needs to be better.”
Ange Postecoglou clarifies Werner comments
Postecoglou was also asked how Werner has responded to his comments.
However, Postecoglou says he has ‘no time’ to tiptoe around the feelings of players and won’t worry about ‘bruising egos’ moving forward as he seeks to ease the pressure on his job.
The Spurs boss even hinted that players who don’t stand up and fight now could be ejected from the club in the future.
“I’ve got no time for that sort of stuff anymore. We’re in a fight here, collectively we’re in a fight,” Postecoglou declared.
“I’m not going to go around worrying about people’s bruised egos. This football club, we want to achieve things and be successful. We’re down to the bare bones in players. If there’s somebody in the dressing room who’s fit, able to contribute but who feels he needs something extra in this moment, he’s probably not the right type.
“I need guys who, and we had some last night, understand the situation we’re in. We’ve 15 fit players and in some positions, we’ve only got two players. I’m not going to go around trying to get extra out of people. If they’re not able to give extra now, it kind of gives me an indication of where they’re at.”
