Ange Postecoglou spoke to the media at Hotspur Way on Wednesday, ahead of our Premier League clash against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night (8pm UK).
Here's what he had to say...
Ange on team news...
"Nothing in terms of new, everyone else is fine, training. Radu is the long-term one. Richy's training, probably not tomorrow, but a chance for the weekend if he keeps training with the first team as he has been and he's getting better. Deki and Kevin progressing well, a week or two with them, they've not joined in team training yet, but progressing well."
Ange on balancing forthcoming Premier League fixtures - Chelsea, Southampton, Wolves - with two legs of our UEFA Europa League quarter-final against Eintracht Frankfurt (10/17 April)...
"Chelsea is an important game and you can’t go past that. It's an important fixture, an important fixture for fans, important fixture for our season, but even if focusing on other games, it's always better to try and gain some momentum in form and performance leading into big games, so tomorrow is that opportunity."
Ange on the news that semi-automated offside will soon be with us...
"I don’t have a massive view on it. If it happens quicker than it currently does and it's more accurate, because I've never felt comfortable with those lines and the accuracy of those lines, then I guess it is a positive. I'd still like assistants to make decisions so don’t have to wait around, but apparently it's an improvement in terms of timing and accuracy so hopefully it works well."
Ange on Cuti Romero playing 180 minutes for Argentina over the international break...
"I was delighted, if he can get through two games with his international team then it's great for us as he's not played a lot of football. Footballers need to play. So, rather than him sitting around for two weeks, he needed games. I think you could see that with the performances he had with us before, especially the Fulham game, by the 70th minute, he was pretty much cooked in terms of his physical fitness, so getting through two games at international level, two tough games, is a positive."
Ange on Chelsea's form...
"They’re a talented squad, good manager. I still think they've had a positive season in terms of what they're trying to build. They've got some real talent, particularly in that attacking third. They obviously got hit by injuries as well and have had some key players missing, which affects all clubs, and that affected their consistency and results, but they're tough to beat at their place and it'll be a good challenge for us."
Ange on the mood in the camp ahead of a trip to Stamford Bridge...
"We understand the significance of the fixture. They are a good side, particularly at home. They are a tough team to beat, so we're going to have to perform at our best to overcome them but it is a great challenge for us. As I said, we need to try to build some momentum into the rest of the season and finish in a positive way, and going to Chelsea... we know we have to play well to beat them."
Ange on the benefit of having time between the end of the international break and this game at Chelsea...
"It’s been a good international break. It’s been a bit unusual not having a game on the weekend which worked well for us because the majority of our international players played, so we were able to give them a couple of days to recover post internationals, instead of flying straight back which I think was good for them. The guys here worked really hard but, again, we could give them some time off within that context. The whole group got together at the beginning of the week and I think they are all in a good place mentally and physically. It was positive in that guys who needed to play football, did so and guys who needed a bit of a breather also got that opportunity."
Ange on Lucas Bergvall's fitness after missing Sweden's matches through illness...
"Disappointing for him. He copped a virus pretty much the first day he got there and it knocked him about. They held him around to hopefully play in the second game but in the end they thought because he hadn’t trained at all it was better they sent him back to us. He had a day off and has trained fully since."
Ange on the start of the season, with reference to an interview with Mark Schwarzer on Optus Sport...
"I thought it was pretty clear, just listen to the interview again. I don’t think there is anything else I need to expand on. You review things along the way and we will probably review things properly at the end of the year. My sense is that we had a lot of players who missed a lot of our pre-season and we went into the season probably a little bit underdone (undercooked) in terms of our key players and we paid a price for that. This pre-season might look a little bit different because we won’t have as many international commitments as last year, but I said in the interview it is stuff we will review and try to adjust so pre-season, which I think is important for every club, particularly for us from a physical perspective, that we try to get right this year."
Ange on Mauricio Pochettino's comments about wanting to return to the Club one day...
"Mauricio... if he wants to come back one day, I hope it happens for him. We all have dreams and aspirations. If that is what he wants. You’re suggesting he is trying to put pressure on me?
The timing of it felt a bit disrespectful to you, that’s all...
"Well, I don’t feel disrespected. I think if you ask Mauricio that question directly, you’d get a pretty clear answer as to what his intent was. Again, nothing from me to be consumed with. I’m more focused on trying to make sure we win tomorrow night."
Ange on Cuti Romero's future...
"He has got a game tomorrow night, that’s what we’re focused on."
Ange on Cuti and Micky van de Ven being available together for the first time in the Premier League since Chelsea at home back in December...
"Like any key players that miss games, it’s great to have them back and hopefully they’re able to contribute for us tomorrow night."
Ange on his comments at Fulham that Yves can let games drift by him, and how he's addressed that with him...
"The same way as every other player. We work with the players, give them feedback and give them the opportunity to work their way back to being the best that they can be."
Ange on the importance of not just the result at Chelsea, but unifying fans as well...
"I don’t think you can get caught up with that. Our job, our role and our responsibility is to try and put in a strong performance tomorrow to win. That is it. You can’t get consumed by too many things that really are out of your control. That is out of our control, how other people feel. What we can do is perform against a tough opponent tomorrow and try to gain some momentum leading into an important part of the season for us. That is where our focus and the players' focus has been."
Ange on if Chelsea will be a good dress rehearsal for the trip to Frankfurt on 17 April...
"It is a little different because European competition and knockout competition, it tends to be a little bit more cagey, but there are some elements there, playing away from home, against a loud fanbase, against a quality opponent where certainly if we can come through that test, it gives you confidence about what is ahead."
