Dejan Kulusevski issued a warning to his Tottenham teammates after the club’s draw against Rangers, and it appears the squad took those words to heart.
Spurs’ away record under Ange Postecoglou has been extremely poor, which is why a trip to Ibrox was never going to be easy for the Lilywhites.
The Tottenham players once again appeared to struggle to cope with the hostile atmosphere they encountered in Glasgow as the home side were second to most loose balls and got on the faces of the Spurs players.
In the end, Dejan Kulusevski came off the bench to square an equaliser, sparing Tottenham’s blushes, but the Swede was not happy with what he saw from his teammates on Thursday.
Kulusevski admitted that he and his teammates cannot allow their concentration or effort to slip in different parts of the game. He was not happy with the first-half performance, admitting that Tottenham did not have control of the game.
Kulusevski told the club’s official website following the 1-1 draw: “Football is a war, you have to be at 100% or you’ll be eaten alive. It was very important (staying focussed), especially when their fans feel the energy, their players are playing well. We have to be strong. We had to come back in the game.
“We created some chances, then got some energy, played some good football and scored a beautiful goal. We handled that well. We were okay (across the game), not perfect. In the first-half, we conceded too much and didn’t control the game, although we had a couple of opportunities, we didn’t take them.”
Kulusevski‘s message about football being a war and having to remain fully focused is something Tottenham have struggled with all season. So often, Spurs have taken the lead in games and allowed themselves to drift down a gear or two.
Fortunately, in the 5-0 win over Southampton, the Lilywhites managed to start in top gear and remain there until they smashed home their fifth before half-time.
Kulusevski is always saying the right stuff to the press and his teammates, so perhaps it is time for Postecoglou to reward that with a leadership role.
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