Big Ange: We are not playing often enough!
Spurs boss bemoans lack of rhythm for his stars
AS rival managers rail against English football’s relentless fixture schedule and burn-out problems, Ange Postecoglou has claimed Tottenham are suffering from not playing enough.
Postecoglou will play only 41 games in his first season at Spurs, in stark contrast to gruelling fixture demands of his previous job at Celtic, where his team played 53 last season and 60 in the season before.
‘Definitely, yeah,’ said the Spurs boss when asked if he wanted more games. ‘For us, a club who want to compete at the highest level against the best, you need a strong squad and to have a strong squad you need consistent games and consistent game time and opportunities.
‘At the moment, if we get an injury, we’re liable to throw in somebody who hasn’t played for four or five weeks. It’s not easy on that player, whereas if you’ve got games, there’s a natural rotation and also gives you a little bit of rhythm. I had the other extreme at Celtic, but I found that a lot easier to manage than having less games or having a disrupted season like we’ve had this year.’
Spurs face Crystal Palace today, their first fixture since a defeat at home against Wolves a fortnight ago, because they were scheduled to play Chelsea, who were in the Carabao Cup final last weekend.
Postecoglou accepts some of this inactivity is self-inflicted. Tottenham failed to qualify for European competition or go deep into either of the domestic cup competitions.
He also admits his intense style of football and high-tempo training regime has contributed to Tottenham’s catalogue of injuries. Richarlison is the latest casualty, with Postecoglou ruling him out for ‘three to four weeks’ with a knee injury.
However, Brazil have named the striker in their squad to face England in three weeks, with their doctor suggesting he may miss only one game for Spurs. On the spate of injuries, Postecoglou said: ‘It has happened before when I’ve come into clubs that the first year there’s always a little bit of an uptick in injuries.
‘We’ve had unusual ones but a lot of the injuries are just the way we train and the way we play and players, sports science staff, medical team understanding that and making adjustments.
‘Some of it could be the schedule, that we just haven’t had a clear run at it. All those things you review. More importantly, when you get to the end of the year, keep an open mind and you look at every area.
‘I don’t think you should be dismissive and think it’s a one-off and won’t happen again. You have to look into it and see if we can do things better next year.’
Tottenham are fifth going into the weekend games, five points behind Aston Villa in fourth with a game in hand. The two teams meet at Villa Park a week tomorrow. Villa will come into that game on the back of a Europa Conference League trip to Ajax.
But Postecoglou added: ‘I don’t think there’s advantage or disadvantage. It depends how you use that time. If you ask me would I rather be in Europe? Absolutely, 100 per cent I’d rather be in Europe at this time playing games.’
THE controversial proposal to give referees blue cards to use in sin-bin trials is likely to be dropped today at a meeting of football’s lawmakers by Loch Lomond.
FIFA and UEFA led a backlash behind the scenes that was taken up publicly by Premier League managers including Postecoglou and Jurgen Klopp, with the International FA Board to set out their plans following their annual general meeting.