Tottenham Hotspur's Sustainable Tactics Caused By Crisis Injuries

JAKARTA - Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou said that the game defended a 2-0 win against Brentford on Sunday, February 2, 2025, based on an injury that left him with a weak squad, not because of the sudden pragmatism.

The Australian coach has struggled with an injury crisis, which forced him to play 18-year-old midfielder, Archie Gray, as a centre-back.

Micky van de Ven was rested after playing for 45 minutes while returning to play in the Europa League in the middle of the week.

Spurs' journey in Europe - which continued after a win over Elfsborg on Friday, January 31, 2025, confirmed their place in the round of 16 - had left Postecoglou players who were still fit with little chance to recover.

However, Spurs are still struggling to win trophies in the remaining three trophies considering hoping the Premier League is no longer possible. The three boxes in question are the Carabao Cup, FA Cup, and Europa League.

Postecoglou has repeatedly cited a list of injuries to his squad that continue to grow when facing poor results. He is also increasingly irritated by reporters' questions about Spurs' performances.

He laughed deeply when asked if his team's defense and low bloc resilience for most of the game in a 2-0 win over Brentford was a tactical shift from Ageball to attack what he used to do.

"How do I say this without repeating my statement and not sound like an excuse?"

"It's very difficult for a group of players to play on Thursdays and Sundays and maintain energy and level."

"What they do is give maximum effort. Maximum effort in a game like against Brentford means you can't be sharp and really dynamic with and without a ball, it's impossible."

"They are human and not robots. People want to ignore it. They want to talk about the reason, but that's the truth, I know the reality."

"These players gave everything. We know fighting Brentford won't be a game where we can play and dominate."

"Brentford has a week to prepare for this. We have about 50 hours (after the Elfsborg match) with the same group of players. So I think, in that context, I think his performance is great," Postecoglou told reporters.

Postecoglou also welcomed defender Kevin Danso's loan even though he warned that the injury suffered by centre-back Radu Dragusin in the middle of the week did not look good.

He said the club was considering further additions to the squad.

"We don't want to bring in just anyone and sometimes it takes longer," said Postecoglou again.