Ange Postecoglou explains why Tottenham need Timo Werner to be his best and is asked about the possibility of the wingers’ loan spell being cut short in January.
Postecoglou has not been one to criticise players publicly in his 18-month tenure at Tottenham, but what he saw from Timo Werner against Rangers pushed him to do so.
The Australian, who withdrew the 28-year-old at half-time, made it clear that his performance was not acceptable and that the team needed more from him.
However, despite making those comments, Postecoglou has now revealed that the on-loan RB Leipzig man will not be frozen out.
The 59-year-old has now remarked that the Lilywhites need Werner to be at his best, given the injuries that they are currently dealing with.
The Tottenham head coach made it clear that the winger will continue getting minutes over the next few games, pointing out that he does not have too many other options to call upon.
When asked if Werner will continue getting opportunities, Postecoglou told Football.London: “I’ve got no choice. Who else am I going to play? I’m pulling kids out of school. I literally am. Getting notes from their teachers. That was the reason for my pointing it out last night. We need Timo. We need all of them.
“In normal times if you have a poor game, there’s a price to pay. It doesn’t exist right now. We need everybody we’ve got. We need him. What I need from him is the best version of himself. When he’s the best version of himself, he helps us. I need everybody to feel that way, to have that mindset. He’s going to play. Of course, he’s going to play.”
The Australian coach was also quizzed on whether Werner’s loan spell could come to a premature end in January, with the wide-man potentially being sent back to his parent club.
Postecoglou responded: “Right now that is the furthest thing from my mind. I’m just not interested in what happens next. I’m interested in what happens now. Now is the time we have an opportunity. In these next five games between now and New Year, we can set up our season.
“Last night was a great point for us because it sets us up for Europe, so we know we’re going to make the knockout stages. Now we have four league games to get ourselves back up the ladder and make an impact. We’ve got a massive Carabao Cup quarter-final to get to a semi-final. I’m not interested in anything else beyond that.”
The post ‘Who else am I going to play?’ – Ange Postecoglou on Timo Werner appeared first on Spurs Web.
