Why Ange Postecoglou must adapt to avoid 'accident waiting to happen' at Tottenham

Why Ange Postecoglou must adapt to avoid 'accident waiting to happen' at Tottenham - ‘He needs to rescue his job'

Published 07/03/2025 at 14:09 GMT

Micky Van de Ven and Cristian Romero are two of Tottenham's most important players, but, aside from the Dutch defender's brief display against Elfsborg, they have both been out since December with hamstring injuries. The duo returned to the bench for their defeat to AZ Alkmaar and TNT Sports expert Don Hutchison believes that Ange Postecoglou needs to adapt his style to avoid any more injuries.

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TNT Sports expert Don Hutchison insists Ange Postecoglou must adapt his style of play to accommodate Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero's injury concerns.

The two Spurs defenders have been out since December after aggravating injuries they picked up earlier in the 2024-25 campaign, with Van de Ven making a brief reappearance against Elfsborg at the end of January.

But both players returned from hamstring issues to make it onto the Tottenham bench for their 1-0 defeat against AZ Alkmaar in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday.

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Hutchison believes that Postecoglou's high line may have contributed to the pair's injury record at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

"Go back to the game they played against Chelsea," he said. "That crazy game where they had Micky van de Ven back and Cristian Romero come back.

"It was their first games back in quite a while, and he had them on the half-way line. Both of them went back off injured in the same game.

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"So hopefully Ange Postecoglou will go into the game against Bournemouth with those two 10 yards deeper instead of having them run 50 yards.

"Have them a little bit deeper and they only have to run 25 to 40 yards."

Spurs will play Bournemouth in the Premier League on Sunday before welcoming AZ Alkmaar to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the second leg on March 13.

And Martin Keown believes part of Postecoglou's job is to manage the injury concerns of his players.

"It is exactly that [the season is done]," added Keown. "Micky van de Ven looks like he is an accident waiting to happen, it is a major problem for him.

"It is definitely linked to the way they are asked to play.

"[Cristian Romero] is going [on international duty with Argentina] apparently, and he is going to be in the squad so that is an interesting one.

"It is good news that they are coming back but it is about when the manager uses them. This is why he is paid the top dough - when do you bring them back?

"It has to be at the right moment. He needs to rescue his job and Spurs' season."

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