Ange Postecoglou has spoken to the media to preview Tottenham's Carabao Cup quarter-final tie against Manchester United. It is a huge game in Spurs' calendar as they look to achieve their goal of bringing silverware to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Tottenham go into Thursday evening's tie in confident mood after putting five past Southampton at St Mary's last Sunday. The Red Devils will also be in a positive mindset after two late goals saw them earn the bragging rights in the Manchester derby.
Speaking in his latest press conference, Postecoglou gave his thoughts on the cup showdown, issued an update on the injury front, revealed when exactly players such as Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Richarlison could return and also spoke about Yang Min-hyeok's arrival at Hotspur Way. Here is every word the Spurs boss had to say when facing the media on Wednesday afternoon:
Team news updates?
I guess from the other night, Destiny [Udogie] no injury but he is still a bit sore from the game. We are not ruling him out but we will see how he is with the turn around. Biss is available after being suspended on the weekend and I think everyone else is as is.
When will van de Ven return?
(Micky) Van de Ven and (Cristian) Romero are still chugging along. I think both will be in the new year. Not as a significant injury as last time with Micky but obviously having a setback the medical team is going to make sure he is right to go. So both of them in the new year at some point.
Mikey Moore?
Mikey is back in training so hopefully not too far away. The next cabs off the rank are Mikey and Ben Davies potentially next week and then Richarlison maybe first week of the new year.
Victory over Bournemouth boosted the mood?
No, we were in a good mood before then. It was a great performance in the last game on Sunday and I was delighted with the way the lads handled everything. It was a tough week with an away European fixture thrown in there as well.
It was tough on us physically and the fact we had so many players out I think the way the players performed was outstanding but the mood is the same and looking forward to a big game.
How big a priority is the Carabao Cup?
We have got ourselves in this position so we have earned that. Like you said it’s a big game, quarter-final of a cup competition and I'm looking forward to it. It should be a cracking night.
Lots of noise around Manchester United and Marcus Rashford…
There’s always noise about Manchester United, come on mate. Where have you been?
What did you think of Rashford’s comments?
No interest. Don’t care. Not interested, he is a Manchester United player. A very good player, they have plenty of good players. But I manage my players and other managers will manage their own players. In terms of Marcus’ situation I have no real desire to examine it any further.
You have reiterated many times, your second season means a trophy…
I haven’t reiterated it many times, but if you ask me a question I will answer it. So if you ask me 100 times I will answer it 100 times but I’m not walking around with banners saying ‘I win things in my second year.’ But ask me the question and I will give you the answer and it is what it is.
In the quarter-finals and close to winning a trophy?
No I don’t think quarter-finals is close. You get to a final then I think you’re close. There is still a fair bit of football to be played, all we can do is be ready for tomorrow night. Like I said good game, big opponent and they have done well in cup competitions in the last couple of years. We are at home which is great for us with the support behind us and as you said an opportunity to get to a semi-final. That is enough motivation and focus we need for this game.
Now you're within sight of the semi-finals and final, would you park your philosophy a little bit to one side to get through and to the final?
I want to win and I want to play well, I don't think that's anything new. That will be it tomorrow night. We'll go out there and try and play our football. If we do, we'll be hard to stop as we have been this year.
Gary O'Neil and Russell Martin lost their jobs last weekend, are Premier League managerial careers becoming even more precarious in the 18 months since you've arrived?
Yeah I think that's a fact. You don't even get sacked in the morning now, you've got to change your song, mate! It's crazy. I don't get it. I don't know what the average tenure of a Premier League manager is these days. This notion that clubs want to bring managers in and build stuff doesn't exist because we all understand everyone of us in our positions at the moment is that the moment there is a bit of a wobble there will be coming from all areas.
I think Gary and Russell are both outstanding young managers who have long careers ahead of them. Unfortunately I think for them at the beginning of their careers that's what a manager's career is going to look like. I think you'll find that from now on managers are going to have about 20 clubs on their CV, even the successful ones because the ability for clubs to just stick with one person just doesn't seem like it's feasible anymore.
I've no doubt both those guys will bounce back, they will have learnt from their experience for sure like we all do and hopefully in the not too distant future they are back doing what they love.
Lucas Bergvall impressed in the No.6 role on Sunday and you've Yves Bissouma back tomorrow, just how tough a decision is that to make in midfield?
It's good to have an option there. Lucas did fantastically well the other night and he has done in the last two or three games he has played for us as he's really made an impact, but the other night I thought he was really good. In the first half he really showed maturity playing that role, discipline and real quality as well. It's good to have that option.
Having Biss available is great as well. I'll make a decision tomorrow, but at the same time that was Lucas' first start for quite a while and he did tire noticeably in the second half so we'll have to see how he's recovered from the game.
How impressed have you been with Fraser Forster since he came in to replace Guglielmo Vicario?
He has been great, no surprise to me. I put him in my Europa League squad, that's how highly I rated him, mate.
Yang Min-hyeok has arrived in the country from South Korea, have you had an opportunity to meet him yet?
Yeah he has been in the building the last couple of days sort of having a good look around. Obviously we can't register him until January 1st so he won't train with us but I always feel it's good, I had this experience at Celtic with the Asian lads we brought in, the Japanese and Korean boys, bringing them in before Christmas which allows them to settle in, especially off the field.
That way by the time we get to register them in a couple of weeks they are already settled and can train fully. It's good to see him around. He has been doing some English lessons which is great, he's already sort of conversing and it's great to have him in the building.
What have you made of Archie Gray at centre-back?
He hasn’t missed a beat, and it’s brilliant to watch. The rest of the lads have obviously helped him. Radu is the experienced one next to him at 22, and Destiny, 22, either side of him. That’s where we’re at in terms of the squad and all the young boys dipping in, I think’s super exciting through a tough period for the squad where we are at from the squad perspective.
The young guys are shouldering a big part of the load. That’s a brilliant thing for us because hopefully we get to smoother waters and we are going to be so much better equipped for what’s ahead. Archie has done really well, his defending has been really solid, obviously he’s got quality on the ball but the way he’s handled what we are asking him to do a really big job not just for a one-off game. He’s handled it brilliantly.
Djed Spence did well v Southampton, is he ready to maybe play a few more games including tomorrow night?
Djed was outstanding the other night. I said, credit to the coaches who have put the work into him. It wasn’t just about him filling a spot, he actually made an impact. Good on the night and he obviously got tired in the second half, understandably so. Again, great for us to have an established player come in, It felt really good he could contribute.
Fans made feelings known about chairman against Southampton, what is your reaction to them?
That’s for the supporters, mate, I’ve said a million times, it’s up to them to express what they want to express but hopefully they got to enjoy the other night, it was a special performance, especially the first 45 minutes.
Tomorrow night, I have spoken about the atmosphere at Ibrox and Galatasaray and how I’d like that to be our atmosphere because it would certainly help us overcome a tough opponent in a really big game.
Are Man Utd a good example of how winning a domestic cup is not the be all and end all?
I have said that before. It depends on what way you look at it. I always say that my ambition is to build a team and a club that has an opportunity for sustainable success. No, I don’t think winning a trophy will have done that but it will help the cause as it will show the ability to win things, create an environment that does bring trophies to the club. It can definitely help with the process but it isn’t the be all and end-all if it doesn’t align with those factors.
What are those factors? Is the team performing across all competitions, and how the squad is developing. Is it stable, is it consistent? Is there growth there so if you win one trophy you are in a position to win a second trophy. But if you win one and you fall off the cliff in another I don’t think it’s the way forward.
What you made of Ruben Amorim?
Yeah look he seems to have come in and made an impact straight away. As I mentioned earlier, it is a club that’s always going to have noise. It’s just that kind of football club and I guess that’s as big a challenge as the actual challenge for anyone that takes over.
He has obviously tweaked the formation a little bit, given different players an opportunity because he wants to have a look at everyone but as they showed at the weekend, they are pretty tough competitors still. Yeah, looking forward to meeting him and taking on the challenge tomorrow.
Spurs have been linked with Rashford in past, would you go in for him in January?
Ah, mate if I looked at everyone we were linked to, I would have no time to do anything else to be honest. I have got other people to do that part of the process. For us, we’ve been pretty disciplined in what we’re trying to build here and we’ll continue to be so.
Is that a no?
That’s a not on my radar. You can ask me about Marcus but you can ask me about every single Premier League footballer and I’ll say the same thing.
Talk about when you have success, look for the struggle before. This feels like the struggle with the injuries and form, but how encouraged have you been by the green shoots – young players stepping up, leaders in Deki emerging etc?
That’s kind of why as I said last week I haven’t lost any resolve or optimism about what we’re building because I see plenty of growth in this group. I guess people will look at our league position and our league form and within that context are saying there isn’t things developing here, but if you strip it away and look at the challenges we’ve had this year with the injury situation, we’re probably one result away from people saying we’re going OK in the league as well.
I think with all these things, my view is stay calm, stay focused and I see plenty of growth. Even Pape Sarr, mate. He is still a young man and is growing all the time and becoming a hell of a footballer. I just get so excited by all that. We’re going to hit some smoother waters at some point. I believe that in terms of where the squad is at. These kind of players who are carrying us through this tough period, you talk about mentality – they’ve got through that, not only got through it but helped the club through it and at such a young age, anything they face after that, they’re going to crash through. For me, I certainly feel there is some real growth that has happened and is happening at the moment.
Atmosphere vs Man City in cup was very good, when it is winner takes all, how important do fans become?
Yeah, massive. That night against City, it was a big game for us and the whole atmosphere that night, the way we started, the way we played the whole night, City were good on the night as well and it was a cracking game. It had a real cup atmosphere and we’re going to need that tomorrow night. We’re going to need that energy. All these games tend to be pretty tight games and if you get the energy of the crowd behind you, it can certainly lift the players and for us it’s going to be an important factor.
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