Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou is preparing for his FA Cup fourth round clash with Manchester City after a “proud” outing against Manchester United in the Premier League over the weekend.
It is a tough week for Spurs who are without three key players thanks to the ongoing Asian Cup and Africa Cup of Nations tournaments. Without Heung-Min Son, they managed to score two goals against Manchester United at the weekend to earn a draw at Old Trafford and keep their top four charge on.
Speaking after the game, Postecoglou said: “I’m really pleased with the boys, an outstanding performance. We’ve had a tough week, and the fact that they could deal with what they’ve had to deal with today, not an easy place to come, they were pretty desperate for a result, I thought, and we conceded early, but our response to that and what other adversity we had I thought was brilliant.”
“We played some great stuff, scored a couple of goals, probably unlucky not to win the game.”
Arsenal fan and TNT Sports pundit Laura Woods also showered praise on the Australian, whose affiliation to Spurs disappoints her. “I do have a big soft spot for Big Ange. I really like him”, she said after the game.
“I love what he has done as an individual coach. I really am disappointed that it’s meaning that Spurs are better and it’s quite a threat for us [Arsenal], but I think he’s brilliant, I think he has done a brilliant job.”
Up next, Spurs have City on Friday 26 January, which gives them some time to rest. However, they will not be resting much because of the prospect of beating the reigning FA Cup champions.
Postecoglou has reportedly given only Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday off to his team which means they will have trained for 12 days before their clash with City. Reports indicate that Spurs’ players are looking forward to their break as Postecoglou’s tactical sessions mimic the length of full matches.
Spurs have up to 14 players absent from the squad thanks to fitness issues and the international competitions in Asia and Africa running simultaneously. The manager recently spoke about how depleted his squad is and how he cannot ask more them.
“It’s why we are where we are. We’re not here because everything is running our way”, said the Australian. “I think anyone doing any kind of objective commentary on our season will not say that we’ve had an easy year. The only reason we’re in the position we are is because we’ve had players who are prepared to put aside whatever adversity we’re going through and give everything they have.”
“These guys are giving me everything, whoever is out there, whether it’s guys playing out of position, guys who haven’t played in a while, guys coming back from injury, they just give everything. It’s not always smooth but there’s no manager on this planet who wouldn’t feel like they’re in the right place when they see the kind of effort these guys are putting in every week.”
