Tottenham Hotspur have had a very difficult season so far.
The North Londoners have lost more games than they have won and are currently 11th in the Premier League table ahead of their clash against Newcastle United.
Some of the performances have not been good enough, but the biggest problem for Spurs has been their injury issues. They have been without several key players for large parts of the campaign.
That has led to a few others playing more games than they should, and Ange Postecoglou has a lot of sympathy for them.
Ange Postecoglou says he wants to rest four Tottenham players, but he can’t
Tottenham’s list of players who are currently unavailable is a really long one.
Big stars like Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Destiny Udogie and Guglielmo Vicario have all missed a lot of games already, and they still aren’t back yet.
Richarlison has barely played this season as well, and that has resulted in Dominic Solanke playing almost every game when he has been available.
Postecoglou is desperate to give Solanke and three other players a break – Archie Gray, Radu Dragusin and Dejan Kulusevski.
But, the Australian just cannot do that at the moment because of how few players he has available at his disposal right now.
“At the moment, the only ones we’re playing regularly are the ones we’ve got no real options for,” Postecoglou said, as per Football London. “We have to play them all the time.
“I’d love to give Dom Solanke a rest, I’d love to give Kulusevski a rest, I’d love to give Radu and Archie a rest, because I think that would help improve performance, but it’s just the cycle we’re in.”
Tottenham have a new problem ahead of Newcastle clash
Tottenham take on Newcastle at lunchtime on Saturday in what is a big game for them.
Spurs have been on the wrong end of results against the Magpies on a few occasions in recent years. The Toon have caused them a lot of pain.
The North Londoners will need to be at their best to get a win, but they have now been dealt a huge blow – talkSPORT claim that Fraser Forster is set to miss the game due to illness.
With Vicario out too, Spurs will have to hand Brandon Austin a start. The 25-year-old has been at the club for almost a decade, but he is yet to make his debut.