Ange Postecoglou has spoken to the media ahead of Tottenham's Premier League encounter against Wolves. Spurs will go into Sunday's game in north London needing to bounce back after losing their last two league fixtures.
Wolves, on the other hand, have won their past two league encounters after Vito Pereira replaced Gary O'Neil at the helm. With Sunday's fixture marking the final game of 2024 for both teams, Spurs and Wolves will be intent on bringing the curtain down on the year in the best way possible.
Speaking to the media in his latest pre-match press conference at Hotspur Way, Postecoglou reflected on some key moments in the Boxing Day defeat at Nottingham Forest and also looked ahead to the Wolves match. The Australian also gave the latest on the injury front, revealed an injury setback for Ben Davies and discussed possible centre-back options for this weekend's game.
You can read a full transcript of what Postecoglou had to say in his press conference below:
How is Radu Dragusin?
Bit early to tell, he obviously tweaked his ankle and felt like he couldn't continue, we'll just have to wait and see. Wait until he gets in today and then assess it from there.
Any other issues?
Djed got sent off obviously so we'll miss Djed but from physical perspective tired bodies but no further issues.
You mentioned before that Ben Davies was close and Sunday is a possibility, is it now a necessity to get him back?
No he’s ruled out, unfortunately he had a setback in training so he's out for another couple of weeks. He's gone.
So what options does that leave you at the back?
Not many. We’re in a tough spot and have been for a while, we've been getting through it for quite a while now and keeping fingers crossed that we don't get more issues but the nature of football and fixture scheduling we’ve had means we've always been on a fine line of being able to get through. It's another test for us but whatever we need to deal with, we'll deal with and get ready for Sunday.
Have you ever experienced anything like this?
No, not at this level and for this extended period of time. There's always been issues at different times but not to this extent. I think we’ve had close to pretty consistently 10 first team players not available for a significant run of games. Definitely a first for me.
Recruitment strategy need to be tweaked?
I still think you can be disciplined. It will depend where we’re at when the window opens and we're getting close to that now, so we've got a clearer picture of where we're at. I still think we have to be disciplined, it's not just about just bringing anybody in. There's certainly a need to reinforce if we can.
Everyone knows January's not an easy time to do that. But the club's working hard behind the scenes to see what we can do to help players we've got at the moment who are giving everything in every game and dipping into every bit of energy they have to try to get us through.
Different areas?
I just think we need to help some of these guys. At least two or three who are fairly long term injuries so you know you're going to be short there. Others are coming back from significant injuries and you don’t know how long they’ll take to get up to speed. We need some reinforcements and the club is working hard to make that happen and we'll see where we get to.
Last season Wolves really challenged you, what do you expect from them this weekend?
Another good game for us, good challenge for us. Obviously a new manager in Vitor [Pereira] who I know pretty well as we crossed paths in Asia a couple of times. They had a great result last night. They definitely have some quality players in there who can hurt you in there and we saw that last year so a good challenge for us.
A really important game for us back at home, we're getting through this period as best we can but we certainly need to go out there on Sunday, play our football and get a result to make sure we get some momentum going into the new year.
How you seen anything different about Wolves under the new manager?
I don't think you ever do, I think it’s more sometimes the new manager comes in and gets a reaction from the players and they kind of realise they get a new opportunity to show themselves and I think you just see the best version of them I guess. Like I said, irrespective of their form, you always knew they had quality players in there who could hurt any team.
We were coming back last night so we didn't have a good look at the game but they had an impressive victory and I'm sure they'll be coming here full of confidence.
Every transfer window is important but do you consider this one the most important one the club has had in years?
Not in years but I think in the context of where we're at at the moment I think it is an important one. I think if we add what we need to add and it fits the bill in what we're trying to do… Our league position is not great but it’s super tight and we’re not that far off. Like I say, we're in the semi-final of the Carabao Cup and still in great position in Europe and there's the FA Cup.
There's still everything to play for for us this year to make it a season where we can have success. But we need some help, the players need some help more importantly, and the club is working really hard to try make that happen.
You said two weeks ago that the job of a football manager is more difficult than that of a Prime Minister...
Can I say with that obviously sarcasm and irony is lost in this country because if people actually believe I was serious when I said that... There are far more difficult jobs than being a manager or even being a Prime Minister of a country.
Do you feel in the two weeks that you said that sarcastically that maybe there is a different way people would look at you now in terms of the Spurs fanbase because you've lost four in five and it's become more difficult this job?
I keep saying fanbase, they love their football club, they care about their football club and want their football club to succeed. They made those feelings and emotions seen. I haven't felt anything but support since I have been here and I still feel that support is there. I keep doing what I think is the right thing to get success to this football club and that doesn't change.
The task is difficult at the moment because of our situation but like most things that are fairly difficult to traverse, it's only temporary and we'll get through it and come out stronger.
Do you feel under pressure and is this the most difficult period of your career?
No and no. It is what it is. It’s not what motivates or drives me. I have always, my motivation for what I do is try to create teams who win things and have success and make an impact. That doesn’t really change. I will keep doing what I am doing.
It doesn’t add any pressure or I don’t feel any extra anxiety about anything. I firmly believe we will get through this and come out stronger and create the team we want to be.
You have always said that ‘winning a trophy is not the be all and end all’ but the start. But if you win a trophy this year will it prove that everything you went through was worth it?
Only if it is sustainable and if it’s not a one off. That doesn’t change. I get where people kind of look at my situation and think ‘jheeze, he needs to do something or else he is in trouble’ but I don’t think that way. It’s not how I am wired. I’m not concerned about that aspect of this role.
Like I said, what excites me about this role and what I love about doing what I do is the possibilities you can create something special and that’s what I am going to try and do.
Is Ben Davies' setback the same injury or is it a new one?
Yeah, similar injury. He tried to come back in training but it didn’t work out.
How do you reflect on the calendar year?
Mixed I guess. I thought last year we finished fifth which was a fair effort considering the changes we made. We were all understanding that it was going to be a real challenge to rebuild the club, the squad, the playing style and stay competitive which I think we did.
This year it’s been mixed in the sense that obviously the results, I don’t think they have reflected our growth. I think our best football this year has been better than last year which is what you’re looking for, you’re looking for improvement but we haven’t been consistent with that and we’ve also had the challenges of what’s been happening around the squad over recent times which taints things for us a little bit in terms of the progress we want to have made at this point but I still believe we are on the trajectory to becoming the team we want to become and like I said we will get through this difficult period.
Two wins out of nine in league games where you have had more than 60% possession, how can you improve against teams who defend deep?
I think it just depends on different games, different outcomes. Last night was, look Forest you go there and you are not going to create bags of chances but we still had moments in the game to execute. There is a bit of fatigue in that front third because the guys are continually playing and it means they are probably not as sharp as they need to be. They had their moment and took their moment.
I guess every game is different. I don’t think it is that we struggle to break teams down it’s just that every game has different moments. And last night was always going to be a game where there weren’t many chances for either side. We didn’t take ours and it wasn’t a great goal from our perspective. We did most of things well last night but that moment we lost concentration and paid the price.
Will it be Yves Bissouma at centre-back?
I don’t know. I mean Yves has never played there so I am not sure why I would put him there. I had to put him there last night because I had no one else, but we’ll see. We’ll see what happens.
Djed Spence played four games in a row and done well, do you not got too hard on him last night with sending off?
A little bit and again it’s another game where I struggle with the cautions at the moment. Who gets cautioned and who doesn’t get cautioned. It was the second time we’ve had that amount of cautions, but no blame on Djed, he’s been fantastic.
Sure you would have welcomed a winter break this season – can you understand why that weekend off was scrapped this season?
I addressed that last week and as I said, we’re not the only ones. I think you are seeing with the league this year and that’s probably why it is so congested because a lot of teams – probably not to our extent – are affected by injuries. It is quite easy to pinpoint why...the workload players are expected to perform at, but I guess that's one for the authorities to sort out.
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