Tottenham Hotspur have suspended Yves Bissouma for their opening match of the season after he filmed himself taking nitrous oxide on social media this week.
Possession of nitrous oxide, where a person intends to wrongfully inhale it for a psychoactive effect, is now an offence since last November under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
Bissouma, 27, previously apologised for his actions, stating that there was a "severe lack of judgement." During his pre-match press conference ahead of Monday night's clash, Ange Postecoglou was clear in his words, highlighting that some "trust-building" is needed between Bissouma and the group.
"I've been in the game for a long time and I've always tried to look at them in a couple of different ways. He's made a really poor decision. You want to understand that and help him through that.
"As a club, what we can do is make sure he does not make those kinds of choices in the future. Within that context, there are also sanctions involved. Some of those sanctions include education, giving him an understanding of what he did was wrong," the former Celtic manager said.
"You always want to give people an opportunity to learn from their mistakes. The second part of that is that he's a footballer at this club. He has responsibilities for the club, his teammates and our supporters. He's failed in those duties, so he will not be available for Monday; we've suspended him.
"Beyond that, there's some trust building needed between me and Bissouma and Bissouma and the group. That's what he needs to work hard on to win that back. He's going to have to earn that. Hopefully, the door is open for him and we can help him to realise that the decisions he makes impact more than just him."
When asked how he rebuilds trust, Postecoglou said: "Behaviour mate. It's quite simple — him making better choices moving forward. He's obviously disappointed and he was very apologetic, but that's just the first part of the process. The next part is that he does the things we need to do. We all make mistakes; it's how you come back from them."
With Bissouma unavailable, it opens up room for Archie Gray to make his debut for Spurs. Gray, 18, joined from Leeds United at the start of July, and has since played in a multitude of positions during pre-season.
Acting as a right-back and centre-back at times, his preferred position is in the middle of the park — and Postecoglou stated he could play on Monday.
"Archie has settled in really well. He's a great kid, but a really strong mindset. We've asked him to play different positions, but he's held it really well," Postecoglou outlined.
"Part of the attraction when bringing him to the club is that, when required, we can use him in those areas. He's going really well, I'm really happy with him, and there's every chance he can play on Monday."
On Tottenham's different expectations
Tottenham finished fifth last campaign in Postecoglou's first season in charge. After the signings of Gray, Dominic Solanke and Lucas Bergvall, there is a natural sense that progression is expected.
It's been a different time in charge for Postecoglou this year compared to last. With a more settled squad, and notably no major loss in Harry Kane, the Australian highlighted this in his press conference.
"It's been a different pre-season. I think we feel better prepared for what's ahead. Last year, this time there were a lot of unknowns. Having said all that, it didn't stop us from having a great start to the season. It's one of these things where just because you're better prepared does not guarantee anything," Postecoglou said.
"For the most part, we got some guys in late last week. This last seven days when we've had everyone in, the level of training's gone up from what we had on tour. That's created a really good squad environment for us. The pleasing thing is pretty much everyone on the list is available."
There are still over three weeks left of the transfer window — and, after making three first-team signings, Spurs are still expected to make further signings. As usual, though, Postecoglou kept his cards close to his chest.
"There's always a little bit of uncertainty, but as supposed to last year, where there were a lot more moving parts, you're working in a smaller spectrum, for me anyway," the Australian said.
"I can plan for the season knowing that a lot of the work is done and whatever we get from here on in is not going to disrupt us too much. I still expect there to be activity, but the uncertainty is a lot less than last year.
"Solanke was important. Even though it was settled, it was a tricky pre-season for us, because we had the majority of the backline missing and we didn't have a striker as Richarlison was injured. When you didn't have those key elements, we tried to build a team.
"Super pleased to sign Solanke and that's coincided with Richarlison coming back. From that perspective, it does give us a settled look to see what the team will look like moving forward."